What were you thinking?
by sassy1bd
Summary: When Edward returns, will Bella take him back? If she does, does Edward have to compete for her love against someone from the Volturi? Read to find out. Story better than summary.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer:**_ _**All rights go to Stephanie Meyer. She had the idea of Twilight, I'm just making a twist off of it.**_

Bella POV

It's been 6 months since _he _left me. I still couldn't say his name. Not even think it. I couldn't bring myself to that sort of pain.

The only enjoyment that I got out of my days was being with Jacob, and for those brief moments, being with _him_. In my mind at least. I constantly was putting myself in danger, just for those few seconds. I was running out of dangerous things to do. But I couldn't give up. I needed the hallucinations. I needed them. They were my morphine for all of this. And the pain was too real. I needed the morphine.

Jacob had been really understanding. I knew he wanted more for me. And lately I've been feeling that someday I might be able to give him what he wanted. He was my sun. And he was making me happy. Well, almost. The point was that I was working on it. And that I was thinking about it. I knew it was a possibility.

I mean, I knew he wasn't going to come back. Why should I make myself suffer when he's gone. I'll always love him, of course. But I couldn't keep waiting for something that wasn't going to happen. It's not like he'd made me promise to wait for him to come back. Or to not be happy ever again. He'd just made me promise that I would be safe.

Well with Jacob I was always safe. Well, I was not in any deadly situations. I was in harmful situations, but not deadly. Jacob would never let anything happen to me. And I knew that.

It was sort of pathetic, sitting here in my bed thinking about all of this. I just wanted to go to sleep. I needed my rest if I was going to keep up with Jake tomorrow. The thought of him bringing me along on a camping trip was scary. He knew exactly what I would need he'd told me. He'd said that all I had to bring was myself. He told me that I'd like it and that I had nothing to worry about. It didn't make me feel any better about all of this.

Camping meant nature. Nature meant many things to trip over. And I'm sure I'd be able to find every single twig on the ground. It was going to be a long weekend. But I was going to be with Jake, so that should be refreshing. Shouldn't it?

I was doing it again. I needed to just stop thinking and get to sleep. I put on my headphones, and drifted off for the night. My dreams were rather silly. The dream had me in the forest, stumbling around. The tent was behind me, and Jake was asleep. I was trying to surprise him with breakfast. But that idea went away quickly when I had been unable to find the grill. It was still dark outside.

I woke up in the morning. I wasn't upset. But I was starting to get worried about this camping trip. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea. Oh well, too late to back out now.

Edward POV

6 months. 6 excrutiating months. Simply unbearable. It wouldn't be long until my will crumbled, and I went back to her. Bella. My Bella. If she would still want to be my Bella that is. I wouldn't blame her if she didn't take me back. But it wouldn't prevent me from doing everything I could to try.

I was sitting in the attic in a corner. I hadn't seen Alice or the rest of my family for 3 months. I had only gone out to hunt through the window. And I was always by myself. If I sensed any of my family coming from behind me, I darted back to my safe zone. I was safe from hearing their thoughts there. Well, almost. I was able to ignore them there at least.

I didn't want to hear about how much they were worried about me. They shouldn't be spending any time thinking about me. This unworthy hideous creature. They had more important things to worry about.

Like Alice for example. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't help but hear her thoughts. It was just second nature for her to be in my head. She was tied between worrying about me, and worrying about...._her._ I constantly saw glimpses of how Bella was doing. None of which helped to convince me that I shouldn't go back. They all showed how much pain she was in.

They showed how much I'd hurt her. And how much I wanted to be the one comforting her. But there was somebody else doing my job. Jacob Black. Lucky son of a gun. He finally got what he wanted. To be the one Bella would turn to. I couldn't imagine how high his hopes were for their friendship. He, no doubt, wanted it to be more.

All of a sudden there was a frantic knock on the door. "Edward?" Alice called. "_Edward, it's Bella. It's urgent. Please let me come in._" She thought. The second my mind heard the name Bella, I had crossed the room and opened the door. Alice walked in looking scared.

"Edward! Bella. Her future disappeared 5 minutes ago. I know you don't want to hear it, but I think she's in trouble. I know you don't want me to be watching out for her. But I can't help it." She said in one breath. Then the breathing turned to hyperventilating.

I brought her to my corner and sat her down. "Alice," my voice was hoarse, "what did you see exactly. Give me every detail."

"I saw Bella getting up this morning and getting dressed. She wasn't doing a very good job of picking out clothes I must say. Anyways, she went down into her kitchen and ate her breakfast. Then she went to the door. When she opened the door her future vanished. I don't know why, but I'm really worried. Oh Edward! She looked horrible. What if she is going to do something stupid? What if...?" She started to dry sob.

"Alice, why are you still sitting there?" I was at the door before she had finished. "We have to help her. She promised she wasn't going to do anything. But I wouldn't put it past her to try something."

Alice was at my side in a flash. "Great!" she exclaimed. "I'm already packed and we're ready to go. All we have to do is drive..._OMG! we're going to go see Bella! Bella! Real, live, clumsy Bella!"_ she thought. I couldn't help but smile. And then that smile turned to a frown. Whatever Bella was doing wasn't good. And we needed to help her as soon as possible. I couldn't believe it either. I was going to see Bella. My Bella.


	2. Chapter 2

Bella POV

I got up and got dressed. I was still worrying about this whole camping trip. I just knew that I wouldn't make breakfast. At least not in the dark. I would defnitely wait to feed Jake until there was light out.

"Bella!" Charlie yelled up the stairs, "Hurry up. Jake will be here any moment. You better not still be asleep!"

I was surprised that Charlie was so excited for me to go. If he was so happy about all of this, I would gladly let him take my place. A whole weekend in the mountains wasn't my ideal passtime. But this is what Jake wanted to do. And I was all up for whatever made Jake happy. I couldn't stand to see him upset.

So I made my way down the stairs. Once I got into the kitchen, I walked straight to the pantry and got my box of poptarts out. Now this was my ideal breakfast at least. Anyways, I had to eat quickly. Jake would be here in no time.

Charlie could tell that I was nervous, so he didn't try to make any small talk with me. He just ate his breakfast, and I ate mine. This was routine. And I wasn't about to break it.

All of a sudden, the door bell rang. Jake was right on time. I still couldn't get used to the fact that he ran faster than he drove.

I jumped out of my chair and ran to the door, Charlie behind me the whole time. I opened the door, and blew a sigh of relief. "Jake," I breathed. His smile grew impossibly wider. "You ready to go?" he asked. "Yup, let's get a move on, don't want to waste all of this sunlight. Or maybe we should." I vainly hoped. He just laughed.

"Now you kids be safe." Charlie said. "Don't worry Charlie, I was made for the outdoors." Jake said comfortably. "Bella will be with me." Then he grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the door.

At that moment, I noticed that he didn't have his car with him. Just a huge hiking bag on the ground by the stairs. This was definitely a bad sign.

"Um, Jake?" I said. "Where's your car?" He just smiled. Definitely should be worried now. "Aw, come Bells. You didn't think I would bring my car did you? We could get there faster by me walking." I just shook my head. He laughed at that and went into the woods to change. I followed him after 5 seconds, so he wouldn't have to come back with Charlie watching out the window.

I couldn't find him. I just heard his breathing. I walked deeper into the forest. It kept getting darker and darker. I heard a low mumble, that sounded like a snicker. As I turned around, he launched himself at me. Landing right in front of me, causing me to fall over. His panting turned into coughing. He was laughing.

I glared at him. "That's not funny!" I fumed. He just laughed and walked to my side, knudging me. He knelt down, and I knew it was time for us to run. I climbed and grabbed onto all his fur. Not being nice, trying to pull some of it out. He just made this weird sound in the back of his throat. It almost sounded like he was purring. Could werewolves purr?

Oh well. He started to run then. And I just held on for dear life. Closing my eyes, and falling asleep, catching up for the previous night's loss. This was going to be a long weekend.

Edward POV

The car ride was a long one. We were both trying to catch the scent of Bella. Just in case she had traveled far from home to do whatever it was she was going to do. Once we reached Forks, her scent was everywhere. Faint in some places. Strong in others. I was very upset when I saw that it was very strong near La Push. But I wasn't surprised. Of course she would be seeing Jacob a lot. It didn't mean that I liked it though.

We drove to her house, but didn't stop right in front of it. I still didn't like Alice's idea. She wanted to talk to Charlie herself. She knew how fond he was of her. And she knew she could get her answers easily. But I didn't want him to tell Bella that we were back, if it would hurt her. Alice reassured me time and time again, telling me that it was just her that was going it. Charlie wouldn't know that I was back unless he absolutely had to.

I growled at her when she stopped behind the house. She just looked up and rolled her eyes. Then got out of the car. I listened to every single word that she had with Charlie. It was obvious that he was ecstatic about her being here. She told him that she just wanted to see Bella. He told her that she was gone for the weekend. Great! Bella obviously didn't want Charlie to know that she wouldn't be coming back.

Alice said that she would wait for her to return. Charlie offered to let her stay, but she just said that she would much rather stay at her old house. She'd told him that she'd missed it. He let her go.

Alice was back in the car then. She knew I had heard every word, and didn't bother with telling me anything. We both just looked forward. Too worried about Bella to make conversation.

"So," she started. "Where do you want to start? We have to find her. If she is in La Push than she is safe for now." I growled.

"I know you don't want to believe it, but she is safe as long as she is with that Jacob Black. She won't do anything drastic around people. But we have to be ready if she decides to leave there. Do you want to split up?"

I just nodded. This was going to be hard. Bella's scent was everywhere, and it would take longer than I'd want it to, to find her.

We parked out car in the parking lot of a hotel. Alice went to get us a room, and I waited outside the car. When she returned, we both layed out where we were going to each start. I would start around her house, and spread out from there. She would start in Port Angeles and spread out. We would meet back up in the middle of the forest. Near the border of the La Push boundaries. All the while having to avoid La Push.

We just nodded at each other and went our seperate ways. We ran down the streets. Too fast for any normal human to see us. We weren't wasting any time. The sooner we found Bella the better.

With not luck, Alice and I met up in the forest. I was getting anxious now. I could smell her all over this place. But I didn't know why. She never was the outdoorsy type. But maybe she'd changed. It had been 6 months.

"_This is bad...really really bad."_ Alice thought. "_Are we too late? I still can't see her! Oh no, what about Edward? What about Bella? Bella please no!_"

"I'll be fine Alice." I assured her. I was worried about Bella, not me. She just stared at me and nodded her head once.

All of a sudden a sound caught our ears. It was roughly about 10 miles away, but clear enough for Alice and I to hear clearly.

"No! Jake don't! Please!" the familiar voice screamed. Alice and I were running in that direction as soon as we heard it. Not even bothering to hear what she yelled yet. All I cared about was that my Bella was in trouble, and I wasn't there to help her. I pushed myself ahead, running faster than I had ever ran before. Alice fell behind.

_**Hehe. I'll stop it right there. Please review!**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Previous Chapter:**_ _"No! Jake don't! Please!" the familiar voice screamed. Alice and I were running in that direction as soon as we heard it. Not even bothering to hear what she yelled yet. All I cared about was that my Bella was in trouble, and I wasn't there to help her. I pushed myself ahead, running faster than I had ever ran before. Alice fell behind._

Bella POV

We had gotten to the camp too soon. I felt like I had only slept for a few seconds. But I knew it couldn't have been that fast. Could it? Ugh! This was going to be too much to get used to. I was just to in love with the idea that I had had a human friend who knew about my real past. But I no longer had that human friend. I had a new werewolf friend. But deep down it was still Jake. I would think about that. And only that.

Jake set me down on the picnic table. And I watched him get to work. He had the ten together in under 2 minutes. And was starting to put a fire together. He did all this in silence. Finally he turned to me and smiled his warm friendly smile.

"So Bells, you excited yet? Or do I need to get your blood pumping?" he asked, his smile mischievious.

I couldn't tell that he had something planned, because I wasn't listening to his voice. I just looked up at him and rolled my eyes. "Oh boy! I can't even wait to sleep on the ground, and cook food over a fire!" I replied sarcastically.

"Aw, Bells. Don't be like that. You know you're happy that you're here with me!"

"Oh I can't even tell you Jake," Sarcasm flowing freely, "how excited I am to be with a half human camping in the middle of nowhere!"

When I looked at him, he was smirking. Suddenly, he turned and ran into the woods. He left his shredded clothes behind him. When he came back, he was in full wolf form. He started to circle the picnic table where I sat. I glared and him and he playfully barked.

I stood up from the table, and started backing towards the open tent. I knew that the tent wouldn't be able to stop him, but I felt that I would be safe once inside. I was being stupid. If he wanted in, he could get in.

"Don't even think about it mister!" I said to him in a firm tone.

He simply just barked a laugh and started closing the gap between us slowly. He almost looked like he was stalking prey. I was his prey in this situation. But he didn't want to eat me, he just wanted to...be Jake.

I kept walking towards the tent, still glaring at him. He kept on coming towards me. I was getting annoyed now. I saw him getting ready to pounce. Quickly I thought of the one thing that might get him to stop, and that was screaming. I knew nobody would hear me, and I didn't want anybody to, but maybe it would make him stop playing around.

"No! Jake don't! Please!" I screamed. With that he jumped and grabbed me. Suddenly I was flying through the air, and landed on the blow up mattress in the tent. He carefully landed on top of me, careful not to squish me, and started to lick my face like a real dog.

"AAAHHH, Jake!" I gasped, trying to surpress my laughter, "Knock it off! Get off you klutz!" He just barked a laugh again. I couldn't handle it. I started to scream and laugh at the same time.

It all happened so quickly I wasn't even sure how. One second, Jacob was on top of me, licking me to death, and the next, Jake was laying by the picnic table and I was in stone cold arms.

I blinked and tried to grasp hold of the situation. I saw Jacob jump up and start circling. I couldn't take my eyes off of him, so worried. I didn't even see who he was fighting. I thrashed in the familiar cold feeling of the arms. I was sure I was dreaming, but I had to help Jacob.

"Bella!" a familiar female voice exclaimed, "It's ok. It's all going to be ok. You're safe now. Edward's got this!"

I pretended I didn't hear it. I pretended I hadn't heard _his_ name. I screamed, "Jacob run! Run Jake! Please, safe yourself, Jake!"

Jacob stopped and looked at me. Rolling his eyes. It was so like Jake. Always in a serious situation, he acted like he couldn't get hurt. But I knew what he was up against, and I didn't want to lose him. Not when he had helped me. Not when he had brought me back to me. Well, he brought me back as much as possible. And that was enough.

I couldn't help it. I had to do everything I could to save him. "Please don't hurt him," I closed my eyes, and sobbed, and begged as much as I could. "Do anything you want with me, but please let him go. Please!"

I felt the arms behind me let go, and I slid to the ground. Face in my hands, sobbing histerically.

"Bella?" _his_ voice said. And with that I fainted.

Edward POV

When I got to where her voice had come from, I froze. There was a campsite set up. And I heard her scream. She was laying on a bed in a shabby tent. A reddish-brown creature, that I recognized too clearly, lying on top of her. It looked as if the beast was biting her.

She just kep screaming. Hysterically. It almost sounded like she was laughing. The wolf was growling. I didn't have to think. All I knew was that Bella was in trouble, and I needed to help her. I recognized Alice was right behind me. But I didn't acknowledge her.

I ran to the tent, throwing the wolf across the campsite. I knew Alice had Bella, so I wasn't too worried about her now. All I focused on was the wolf that had popped up and was now staring at me, growling.

"_How dare you come back!,_" the wolf thought, _"How can you do this to her! How can you even show your face. I should rip your throat out right here and now!"_

I froze again. Was this wolf who I thought it was? I recognized the voice. "Jacob run! Run Jake! Please, safe yourself, Jake!" Bella screamed. I was confused. Why was she defending this creature?

The wolf looked at her and rolled her eyes. "_Typical Bella. She should be worried about herself, but of course she's worried about me. I wonder if she would mind if I tore his bloodsucker up right in front of her?_"

"Please don't hurt him, do anything you want with me, but please let him go. Please!" Bella sobbed. It almost sounded as if she were begging. But why? Why did she care about a creature that had just attacked her?

I saw and read that Alice felt the same way. Shocked she let go of Bella and stepped back. She was as confused as I was. Bella sank to her knees, mumbling incoherently into her hands. I couldn't help myself. I took my eyes off of the reddish-brown monster and looked at her. "Bella?" I started, and she sank even further into the ground. She had fainted.

_**I know this chapter is short, but what am I supposed to do. I'm glad you guys are all enjoying this. It might make me write even more. Hehe. Keep reading and reviewing and I'll think about it! **_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Previous Chapter:**_ _I saw and read that Alice felt the same way. Shocked she let go of Bella and stepped back. She was as confused as I was. Bella sank to her knees, mumbling incoherently into her hands. I couldn't help myself. I took my eyes off of the reddish-brown monster and looked at her. "Bella?" I started, and she sank even further into the ground. She had fainted._

Bella POV

No. This was all wrong. I must still be dreaming. But that's ok. Jake would no doubt hear me screaming or thrashing about, he would wake me up soon.

Yes. I must be imagining the cold and hot hands all around me. The whispering in the back of my brain must have been because I was finally going crazy. I'd been trying to get the hallucinations, and my brain had finally had enough.

"Bella!" a husky voice said, "Come on Bella. It's ok. I'm here. You don't have to be frightened. Wake up. Come on."

I sighed, realizing that it had been a dream. I was content with that idea. It was too scary to think that it was anything else.

So I opened my eyes, and right there in my face was Jake. I smiled. But in my peripheral (sorry if I spelled that wrong) vision, there were two other figures. It was too dark out, my human eyes couldn't tell if they were just trees.

I noticed that I was freezing, despite the fact that Jake was hovering over me. Why was I on the cold, wet ground? Had I not been dreaming after all?

I shook my head. Jake took my face in between his two warm hands, and held me still. "I'm sorry Bella," he started, "They decided that they would come back." The rest he said under his breath, and I wasn't sure if he meant for me to hear it. "I don't know why they decided that it was time to hurt you again. But I'll do whatever I can to make sure that doesn't happen."

"Jake, what happened? What are you talking about? Why am I on the ground? Are you ok?" My questions came out of my mouth like I was asking for a murder confession.

"Bella?" the female voice said again. I glanced over to one of the figures in the shadows. Clearly, they weren't trees. The figure moved slowly towards me. She reached out her hand and I lifted mine off the ground.

Just then, Jacob was between us, growling like crazy. The figure was pulled away too, pulled behind another figure. The shadow was too familiar, I didn't want to look at him. But I didn't want anybody getting hurt.

I heaved myself off the ground. Stumbling toward all of them. "Guys knock it off," I started, "Jake, obviously this wasn't such a good idea to do this this weekend. I guess we'll just plan for it some other time." I said turning towards Jake. "They're probably just passing through. It's ok. Now go and change back to my Jacob please."

He stared at me for a fraction of a second and then darted off into the woods. "Hey, Bella!" he called after a few seconds, "Would you throw me some clothes. I kinda ripped my up."

I went to his back inside the tent, and found my favorite shirt on him, a black t-shirt with a wolf on the front howling at the moon, and some faded blue jeans.

I threw them to the forest without a word, and then Jake was back at my side. "Come on, Bella. I'll pack the tent up. Then we'll head back." I just nodded. I didn't look at the others. It was too much for me.

I went and sat down at the picnic table, and before I knew it, one of the figures was sitting in front of me. Alice.

I looked up and smiled at her. Tears were starting to form in my eyes. It took all the strength I had not to jump across the table and hug her. I knew that it would end up hurting me in the end.

But she didn't seem to care. She smiled back at me instantly, and before I knew it, I was in her arms. It felt so odd to me, since I was so used to the scorching heat of Jacob. Her stone, cold arms were a comfort though. I didn't want to, but I started to sob. I smiled at her with the tears coming down my face.

She looked as if she would cry too, if she could. But I've been wrong before. Why would she cry after having left me? Why would she be upset to see me again?

"Alice!" I blubbered incoherently.

"Shh. I know. I know." She said, trying to comfort me. "God, Bella! I've missed you so much. It's so good to see you again, alive."

I looked at her. What did she mean alive? Did she really think that I would kill myself? I thought she had thought more of not.

"It's good to see you too, Alice. But..." I started. Then I stopped. I didn't want to start the conversation that I knew I had to have. I wanted to know why she was here. Why she was tormenting me. But I couldn't bring myself to ask it.

She seemed to know what I was asking, probably having already seen it, and answered me anyway.

"I was watching you, your future. But when it all of a sudden disappeared, I didn't know what to think. I got worried that you were going to do something stupid, so I panicked and came to save you. It's a good thing too, because if I hadn't, you'd probably be hurt or dead by now." She said all in one breath.

I looked at her, confused. I saw her eyes quickly glance across the table where I had been sitting before. I had noticed _he_ had moved over to where we sat, but I didn't look at _him. _

"Alice, why would you come to save me?" I was uncomfortable with her explanation. "Why would you bother?"

Her eyes went from confused, to sad, to angry in half a second.

"Bella!" She exclaimed. "Do you really think I, or any one of us for that matter, would've let anything happen to you if we could help it?"

I had to think about that for a second. Yes I did think that. They didn't care about me, otherwise why would they have all left me. _He_ had made it perfectly clear that I was an inconvenience to all of them.

"Yes, I do." I said bluntly. I didn't look at her, but I felt her stiffen. Her arms dropped and I stood up, walking over to Jake. He had finished putting the tent up and was not zipping up his backpack.

I hear a hiss behind me. I knew that hiss, and I didn't like it. I turned around as quickly as I could and glared at both of them, tears running freely now.

"Why'd you come back?" I said. "So you could hurt me? Do you guys get a kick out of me being in pain?"

Their faces were shocked. But I still only looked at Alice's. Unfortunately, she wasn't the one who answered my question. Of course she wasn't.

"Bella!" he said, anxious. "How could you say that?"

Jake stepped in for me. "You know exactly how she can say that, bloodsucker." He was trembling now. And I could see both pairs of eyes across from me glance to him and back to me in pure horror.

Jake put his arm around me, and I knew that it was the wrong move. In half a second, I was in cold arms again, and 10 feet away from Jake.

"What the hell!" Jake yelled. "Get your hands off me, leech. As if _I_ would hurt her." I could hear the double meaning in his voice clearly.

I sighed. This wasn't going to be quick, like I had hoped. I had hoped that they would see me, make sure I saw them, and then left. But, it was quite obvious, that that wasn't the case. They weren't going to leave until I talked to them, without Jake.

"Ok. Enough." I breathed. "Jake, go home. They're obviously not going to harm me physically. They won't even let you touch me."

He looked at me shocked. But when he saw the caution in my eyes, he knew that I was right. He inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. He grabbed his pack, walked around _him_, and came over to me.

"If you need help, just yell. Make some sort of noise. I'll be here in a second if I'm close, but if I'm not, somebody else will be." He looked at me anxiously. "Don't worry, Bells. You're not alone in this. I'm here, I promise."

He turned towards Alice and said sarcastically, "Can I hug her, or are you gonna have sir-ditch-a-lot tackle me again?"

She nodded once and glared at him, glancing at me cautiously. I walked the short distance between us and wrapped my arms around him. I put my head into his chest, and breathed in his scent. Woodsy. He put his cheek on the top of my head. I sighed and pulled away from him. The growling in the background worried me that it would cause another fight.

He looked at me for a long moment, then glared at the other two. "Don't try anything, leeches. If she comes back to me hurt more than I know she's going to after this, you won't be able to make it back to wherever it is you came from. And I will personally be throwing you into the fire." He said glaring at _him_.

"Chh, as if we're gonna harm her." Alice added sharlpy, "You can leave now, your presence is no longer needed, dog!"

Jacob huffed and ran towards the woods, once again. I heard the shredding of clothes, and stared after him.

I wasn't too anxious about the talk that was awaiting me. I sighed and went to sit at the picnic table, staring at the wood, tracing patterns with my eyes. If they thought that I was going to speak first, they were dead wrong.

"Well," Alice started, "I guess I know why I couldn't see her future now. At least I think I do. Now that wolfy is gone, I can see your future, Bella. Edward, brace yourself"

Edward. Oh no! His name. I would never be able to lock it up in my head again. It was out now, and the pain of it was almost too much. I grabbed at my waist with both my arms, and breathed in sharply. I heald my breath until I could feel my heart slowing down, then greathed out slowly.

This wasn't good. I looked up and Alice was sitting in front of me, and so was...Edward. Beyond my better judgment, I stole a glance at him. Bad idea. I looked at him and his eyes were on me, anxious. I stared at him and I could feel the tears coming. But they weren't painful tears. They were tears of anger. I could feel all the blood coming to my face.

I glanced back at Alice, and I could see that she was worried. But I don't think she was worried about me, I think it was more worry for her brother.

"What do you guys want?" I asked, trying to sound fierce and failing miserably.

"Bella," Alice started. But I cut her off.

"Alice, please don't. Don't try to act all nice. Obviously you guys came here to hurt me more," I said quickly, glancing at Edward. "But why? I haven't bothered you guys in over 6 months. I've done all I could, and now I'm just going tohave to start all over again. Why?"

She looked bewildered, and shook her head while I was talking. Edward looked pained. He started to speak, but I didn't let him.

"And you!" I said, turning on him, "You've done enough. What more do you want from me? It wasn't bad enough for you to leave me. You had to bring Alice back. And you had to come with her?" The tears were uncontrolable now.

"Bella," he started, "Bella. I'm sorry, I truly am. You have no idea how much hate I feel towards my self right now, and have since I left you..." But I didn't let him finish.

I stood up, "Please don't. I can't do this." I started to walk away but he was suddenly in front of me. He put his arms around me. With his touch I went crazy.

"Don't touch me! Don't touch me!" I sobbed, his arms dropped. "How....could you? Why...are...you doing ...this?" I started to pound on his chest, knowing I couldn't make him feel the pain I felt. But I still tried. "What...did I...ever do...to you? Why do you...hate me? I'm sorry...for whatever I...did to deserve...this. I truly am. But please...I can't take...it anymore. I won't...survive. If you have...any decensy...leave me. Now!" I didn't look at him, but my pounding slowed, and I sank to the ground. My face in my hands, again.

_**Alright, I don't think this chapter was as good as it could've been, but I've had a long day. Sorry if you don't like it. But still review and give me feeback. Next chapter, Edward's perspective. **_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Previous Chapter:**__"Don't touch me! Don't touch me!" I sobbed, his arms dropped. "How....could you? Why...are...you doing ...this?" I started to pound on his chest, knowing I couldn't make him feel the pain I felt. But I still tried. "What...did I...ever do...to you? Why do you...hate me? I'm sorry...for whatever I...did to deserve...this. I truly am. But please...I can't take...it anymore. I won't...survive. If you have...any decensy...leave me. Now!" I didn't look at him, but my pounding slowed, and I sank to the ground. My face in my hands, again._

Edward POV

While her fists were pounding away at my chest, I felt a different kind of pain that I had been used to for the last 6 months. It wasn't pain that I didn't have my life, Bella, with me anymore. It was the pain that I had pained my life, Bella, if that makes any sense.

Her words pained me more than I thought was possible. She thought that I had only come back to harm her. That I liked seeing her this way. So fragile and pale. Almost sickly thin. I definitely did not like it. It made me sick to think about what I had done to her. To make her think that I wanted to hurt her, that was unbearable.

She sank to the ground, and for a brief moment, I had no idea what to do. I didn't know if I should let her sit there, or kneel down to her, and put my arms around her. If I put my arms around her, she would no doubt try to brush me off, but I knew I wouldn't let her. So that's what I did.

I kneeled to the ground, and wrapped my arms around her. She did try to shake me off, like I had predicted, but it was a feeble effort. After a moment, she realized that, and just sat stone still, other than her sobbing. Alice had walked into the forest, trying to give us a some privacy.

"_This is going to be hard Edward, but don't give up yet. There's still some hope."_ She thought as she walked away.

I sighed. I knew this was going to be hard, but it didn't do any good just sitting here, doing nothing.

"Bella," I started. I waited for her to interrupt me, but she didn't. She just sat there. I almost wondered if she had fallen asleep. But I knew she hadn't because she was still crying. "Bella, please don't cry. I know you think that I came back to hurt you, but that is not the case. I know I've hurt you more than any one human should have to hurt. But if I had thought that there had been any other way for us to be, then I would have done it, if it meant less pain for you. Please, love, don't cry. I love you." I finished.

I waited for her response, hoping it wouldn't be too painful. Even thought I deserved that pain. I deserved much worse than the response I got.

"Edward..." She breathed. "Edward." She continued to whisper my name, still sobbing. Her breathing had gone back to almost normal before she talked again.

"Edward, I don't understand. Why did you come back then? You left me. You don't care about me. You made that very clear when you left. You made it very clear that all I was to you was an inconvenience and that you would be better off without me. "You're not good for me," You'd said. Those words came out of your mouth." She stated.

It was horrible to see that she thought she was nothing to me. That she thought that all she was to me was an inconvenience. That is not what I had wanted her to feel when I left her. I had thought that it would be less painful for her, if I left her the way I did. But obviously that wasn't the case.

"Bella, you're everything to me. You will always be everything to me. The past 6 months have been pure torture for me. I was going to come back, even before Alice told me that you were in trouble. I had planned to follow you and beg you anytime I could, until you took me back." I added, embarrassed.

She shook her head. She obviously did not believe me. I replayed the Alice's words in my head. "_There's still some hope."_ I lived off of that theory. Hoping to make it a fact.

With that, Bella stood up. I let her, but I didn't release my hold. She looked up at my face. Her eyes were blood shot and swollen, her cheeks were wet with her tears. The look of pure pain on her face. It tortured me, vowing to myself that I would be the reason she smiled again. I would be the reason that she was happy. I would be the reason for this look on her face to disappear.

I could tell that this conversation was over, for now. She pulled away from me and I let her. She simply said, "I can't." I just nodded, and added, "I won't stop trying, Bella. I love you and I always love you. Forever. Until I die. Whichever comes first." She looked away from me, her arms starting to shake, she was crying again.

"Come on, I'll take you home." I told her. Walking towards her. But she walked into the woods, calling for Alice.

Alice was there in a flash, knowing what Bella wanted. She held her arms out, waiting for Bella. She lifted her off her feet, and I knew that I wasn't going to be the one taking her home. Probably for the best, for the time being.

We started to run, and I could see Bella smiling, putting her face into Alice's collarbone. Alice smiled too. "_My best friend. I'm finally with my best friend. Bella! Ha! She's still alive! I'm soooo happy. Why'd it take me so long to see where I belong. I belong here, with my best friend. And Bella belongs with Edward, and viceversa. Oh crap! Edward!"_ she thought.

She looked at me, frantic. She was apologizing. She had forgotten that I could hear her thoughts. I simply smiled at her, and she knew that I wasn't going to give up.

But I didn't know if I could handle it. I needed a boost in confidence. Where was Jasper when you needed him?

Bella POV

In Alice's arms, I felt safe. I felt at home. I loved it. I couldn't help myself. I had to smile. It was amazing to be moving this fast once again. I wasn't use to it. The motorcycle didn't even come close to this feeling. I couldn't wait to see Charlie's face when he saw who was with me. Well, I could, once he saw who was with the person who was with me. Edward.

I closed my eyes. I was as content as possible in my state. This was the best I had felt in such a long time. Even when I was with Jake, it hadn't been the same as this. I opened my eyes eventually, and was shocked where we were. I recognized the place, but it wasn't where I wanted to go.

"Alice, where are we going?" I asked, scared. I didn't want to go where I knew we were going.

She smiled down at me, "There's a few more people who want to see you." And with that, she pushed herself ahead. It wasn't as fast as Edward, but I knew it was fast for her.

When we got to the Cullen's home, I tried to remember how to breathe. I hadn't been here in so long. It brought back memories, which at the time had been good, but now they were painful.

"Calm down, Bella." Alice said. I hadn't heard a word from Edward this whole time, but I knew that he was there. Listening to every word we said, and every thought Alice had.

Alice set me on the ground, and I struggled to regain my balance. I tripped over a small twig in the ground, and Alice caught me.

I snorted, "Well, I couldn't completely changed. Unfortunately, I kept my horrid balance."

Neither of them thought what I said was funny. And I hadn't meant for it to be. But it made me feel a little better. I don't know why, exactly, but it did.

Alice grabbed my hand, like a best friend would, and skipped at my side, until we reached the front door. She opened it instantly and we were in the familiar space that I had been dreading to see. There were 5 very eager faces staring back at me.

I looked at the ground, and felt Alice's hand leave mine. I mentally noted that I was standing by myself, probably looking like an idiot, to all of them. When I looked up, Esme was right in front of me, wrapping me in a friendly hug.

"Dearest, Bella." She whispered in my ear, and pulled me away from her, to get a better look. I blushed. I knew I didn't look anywhere close to presentable. I had been planning to camp, not greet past fa—friends. I had been thinking family, but that thought was just way to pleasurable to be remembered.

Suddenly, I felt a wave of happiness wash over me. I looked up at a smiling Jasper. I hadn't seen him in so long, and the last time I had, he had been about to tear me apart. I tried to smile at him, but I wasn't fooling anybody.

In another instant, I felt like my insides were being squished. I was in a huge bear-hug.

"Can't breathe, Emmett." I gasped.

He chuckled, and set me down. His curly brown hair was the same as always, and he still had the dimples that I remembered. Well, of course he did. Vampires don't change, do they?

"Welcome back, Bella" Carlisle greeted me. I just nodded, and did my unsure smile. I wasn't back, I was just visiting. I couldn't allow myself 'back'. It was too painful.

"Hello, Bella." A beautiful voice sang. Rosalie had just greeted me. I was shocked. She has never talked to me before, and now she was being friendly to me? I must be dreaming. This had to be a nightmare. Any second now, all of them would turn on me and try to suck me dry. It was inevitable.

But it didn't happen. And I felt rude, not replying.

"Um...hi, Rosalie." I stuttered. This was all way to strange. They couldn't all be this happy to see me. Not when they had abandoned me. It must be because Edward and Alice were safe. And they didn't want to seem rude just ignoring me.

"Well," I started. "I should probably get going. I have to, uh...contact Jake. He'll be worried about me." '_Unlike others_' I thought to myself.

"Well you can use our phone," Esme offered. She was always so kind. Too kind, in this situation.

"I'm sure Charlie will be wondering where I'm at." I lied. Only Edward and Alice knew that I was lying. They were the only ones who had seen me camping.

"Not a chance, Bella." Alice said sharply. "We have lots to talk about, and you're not leaving until I give you a make-over"

"Alice, you're not giving me a make-over." I argued. "And I don't have anything to talk about. Anyways, you should probably talk with your family. Don't worry. I won't bother you guys. I'll just go."

She shook her head, disparagingly. She knew what I was trying to do, and so did the rest of them

"If you think you leaving now will stop us from talking, it won't." She warned.

"Ha!" I laughed. "Well it'll probably be useless, but I intend to lock my window. And scream if I see anything non-human in my room." I had tried to sound as convincing as possible, but they all just giggled and chuckled at my words.

"Ok, Bella. Whatever you say. We'll see you tonight, whether you like it or not." Alice said, poing to her, Edward, Emmett, Jasper, and...Roaslie. Why would they all need to come? Couldn't I just talk to her.

"Whatever, Alice. But just because you're all in my room, doesn't mean I'll say anything to you. I'll just pretend to be asleep." And with that, I walked out the door. Closing it silently. I could hear them chuckle behind me. I glared into the night air.

At that moment, I realized that I didn't have a car. I was debating walking home, or back to the front door to ask if they could call a cab. I turned around at the sound of the front door closing. I saw a set of keys laying on the 'Welcome Mat' with a note attatched to it.

'_I'm not giving up Bella_' it said in Edward's fine script. I snorted. He already had given up.

I took the keys around to the garage, and pressed the unlock button. And wouldn't you know, the shiny silver Volvo, beeped in resonse. Great! This was going to be fun to explain to Charlie.

When I got home, Charlie wasn't there. He was probably over at Billy's watching a game. I wonder what he thought about Jacob being home so early. He would probably yell at me when he got home.

Oh well. I still should call Jacob and let him know everything was ok. As ok as they could be, at least.

I went to the phone and dialed Jacob's number. Luckily he was the one who answered.

"Bella?" he asked.

"Hey, Jake. I just wanted to let you know that I got home ok. And I wanted to thank you for sticking up for me today. I'm glad you're my friend Jake." I added.

He sighed. "I'm just glad you're ok Bella. And don't worry about today. It'll all be fine. I'm glad you're my friend too."

"Ok, Jake. Well I'm really tired so I'm gonna go get some sleep."

"Do you want me to come over?" He asked. He sounded a little to eager about that idea.

"No, it's fine. I think I kinda just want to be alone right now. But thanks anyway."

"Sure, sure. No problem Bella. I'm here for you. Call me if you need anything, and I'll be there."

"Thanks, Jake. G'night." "Night, Bells."

Now that that was done, I headed up the stairs. When I got into my room, I closed the door and headed to my bed. I didn't even bother with my nightly routine. I was too tired. I got under the covers, and looked at the ceiling.

Something caught my eye over by my window. It almost looked as if my computer was standing by. But as I stared more closely, there were two red lights, and they were higher than where my computer sat.

They were two red eyes staring right at me. Red eyes. That meant they weren't 'vegetarians'. And that could only mean one thing. Vampire.

I tried to scream, but before I could, a stone cold hand was wrapped around me mouth.

"Don't try anything, as if you had a chance. It'll make it easier for you if you just followed everything I say." The male voice said.

I breathed. It wasn't Victoria, and I was ok with that fact. But I was still scared stiff.

"Good." The figure said. "Now, I'm going to take you to the airport, and if you try to make any sound, I'll be going to the airport by myself, and you'll be lying on the ground, dead. Do you understand?"

I nodded. And before I knew it, I was out my window and hurtling throught the forest. I could only hope that my death would be quick and painless.

I didn't even hope that Alice would see anything. If she did, she probably wouldn't care, so it did no use hoping.

_**Ok so what do you think? I think this chapter was better. Review review review! I want to know what you guys think!**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Previous Chapter:**__ I didn't even hope that Alice would see anything. If she did, she probably wouldn't care, so it did no use hoping_.

Edward POV

I guess it was my fault Bella was acting this way towards the people who loved her the most. My whole family, Carlisle, Esme, Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and even Rosalie were all happy to see her again. And to see her still alive.

She didn't seem to notice. She almost looked uncomfortable. "_She's uncomfortable, Edward"_ Jasper thought. I just nodded my head. I could feel him trying to lighten the mood a little bet, and watched as she looked up at his smiling face, seeing through his pretense. He knew it too.

She was admired by my whole family. Rosalie even tried to be friendly to her. But she still seemed like she didn't believe that we were all happy to see her.

Bella was talking to them now. I could tell that she was trying to get out of being here, but I didn't fully listen to her words. I was trying to think of all the ways I would be able to see her again. Obviously she would be trying to avoid every possible encounter with us.

I saw her leave then. She closed the door and I could tell that she wasn't walking away. I remembered that she didn't have a car to get home. So, I ran to the kitchen and quickly wrote her a note. I tied the note to my keys, and ran back to my family. I could feel all of them staring at me, but I didnt' look at them.

I quietly opened the door, and set the keys on the welcome pad. She was standing on the porch, right in front of the stairs, debating. She didn't want to come back and ask us for a ride, it was obvious. But I couldn't just let her walk home.

I closed the door louder than I had to, just to make sure she would hear it. I knew she did because I heard her walk the three steps to the mat, pause for 5 seconds, then sighed. I smiled to myself. I loved every emotion she had. And she was adorable when annoyed.

We were all sitting in the living room now. We were talking about how much Bella had changed, and what we were going to do about everything. I could read their minds, and could tell that they all wanted to see her and I happy again. I didn't talk much during this conversation. I didn't want to show my family how pained I was about all of this. I couldn't prevent Jasper from knowing, but he knew better than to say anything about it.

Alice sighed, in frustration. "That damn mut! She must have called him. I can't see her future at all." She exclaimed.

I frowned. It had been all my fault that she was associating with werewolves in the first place. I would never forgive myself for all the danger I put her through while I was gone. I should have been here to protect her.

Jasper and Rosalie had been furious when they heard that she was hanging around with a pack of adolescent werewolves.

"How could she!" Rosalie roared. She didn't even like Bella. It was hard to understand why she was upset about all of this. "Granted, she didn't know that they were dangerous. But after the way you guys acted when you found her, she should have caught on. She's a smart girl. Well, at least she used to be." She ranted.

Jasper was thinking the same thing. But his frustration wasn't the same. He was mad at himself for driving away his whole family from someone they all loved. She had gotten a paper cut at a birthday party, and a week later, they had left her. All because he couldn't control himself around her blood. He was frustrated that he had been the whole reason she was with werewolves at all.

He knew I could read his thoughts, and we both stared at each other for a long moment. I shook my head and pointed at me. He understood what I meant, and shook his head. I could tell we all felt responsible for why Bella had made such dangerous friends. But we didn't understand why she still was keeping them.

Emmett had been a different story. He had been amused that Bella had that kind of backbone. He couldn't wait for his chance to fight werewolves. He was hoping that that time would come sooner than all of us were. I didn't want it to come at all, actually. But you couldn't take Emmett out of a good mood, no matter how crazy his ideas were.

It had been about 15 minutes since Bella left, when Alice said, "It's time to go. If we want to talk to her before Charlie comes home." We all nodded.

We slowly stood up, when Alice gasped, and fell back onto the couch. Jasper hovered over her protectively. "What's wrong, Alice. What did you see?"

Alice's face was blank, and when I saw her vision, I was out the front door. My family, excluding Carlisle and Esme, were all behind me. I ran faster than I had in a very long time, to Bella's house.

Alice had seen Bella sitting fearfully on an airplane. She was sitting next to a cloaked figure who was staring dangerously back at her. She whimpered and he hissed at her, warning her to keep quiet. I had to make sure for myself that Bella was still there. If Jacob had been around her, then why hadn't he stopped whoever it was taking her now?

That question was answered when I got to Bella's house. Jacob, in his human form, was lying on the ground underneath her window, unconscious. Emmett, Jasper, and Rosalie, waited around Jacob, while Alice and I scaled the side of the house into Bella's bedroom.

She was gone, and I could smell the sweet scent of another vampire. That definitely was not a good thing.

"Alice," I turned to her. She almost looked as if she would cry if she could. "Where is he taking her?" I could see it in her head before she answered me, but I waited for her to answer, hoping I was wrong.

"Volterra." She moaned. She sank to her knees, and stared at the floor. I immitated her. This defnitely was not a good thing indeed. And they were already on a plane. This made my time to get to her, extremely limited.

But I had to try. Volterra was the last place a human wanted to be if they knew about vampires. And Bella smelled so good. The Volturi would surely have her for an afternoon snack if they smelled her.

I was banking on the thought that maybe they didn't want to eat her, they just wanted to get Alice and I to come to them. Over the years, Aro had tried to get the two of us to join his guard. We denied him every time. But now he had the one thing in his power that would cause me to rethink my decision. He had my Bella.

I jumped up then. We had to save Bella. We had to help her. No matter what. Alice copied me, knowing what I was planning to do.

"I'm coming with you, Edward." She said. I shook my head at her. "That's completely out of the question." I stated.

She hissed at me. "Look, Edward. Bella means a lot to me too. And I'm not going to let my brother go to face the Volturi alone. I'm coming with you. And if we're going to try to save Bella, then we better get a move on."

"We're coming too." A female voice stated. I turned around. I hadn't heard my other siblings join us. I had been to busy thinking about Bella.

"We can't all go, what about Carlisle and Esme." I argued. They were making this way too difficult.

"Edward, Bella's not yours. She's ours. And whatever's ours, we keep. No matter what. We may lose it for a while, but we always keep them in the end." Emmett said.

We all stared at him. His sentence made total sense, once you got around his confusing way of stating it. I just nodded, and jumped out the window.

Maybe them coming was a good thing, I thought to myself. This was going to be hard, and I could use all the help I could get.

Bella POV

We'd gotten to the airport faster than we normally would've. Even if I had been traveling with Edward. This vampire was truly fast. He set me on my feet when we got there. But we were still in the cover of trees and bushes. He turned to me, still glaring. He almost looked apalled.

"Here's what we're going to do." He stated. He sounded hopeful that I would argue with him. But I didn't. I just stared back at him, too frightened to speak. "You and I are going to be a couple for a few hours. Repulsive, I know. But those are my orders. I'm going to do all the talking. If you try to speak, even whisper, one single word, I will personally destroy you. Do you understand?" He finished.

I just nodded. I knew I was going to die, but I was hoping to hold it off as long as possible.

"You're a smart little human. I can see why they trusted you. But I still don't understand why they left you a human. They surely knew the dangers. Oh well. It's not my problem." He stated matter of factly.

I gulped. He put his arm around my waist, and pulled me towards the airport. He hissed down at me, furious. "Have you ever seen a couple out in public?!? You look like you're in pain! So help me, if you don't act like I told you..." He didn't need to finish his sentence. I wrapped my arm around his waist, and winced. It was a familiar cold, but this time, it wasn't comfortable.

We checked in when we got inside. And to try and pursue the goal of a couple, the vampire leaned down to kiss me. I winced, and I couldn't tell if he did too. But I put my lips to his as well. I didn't need him any more angry than he already was. I was wondering if he had been playing on the whole vampire hating human thing.

He kissed me as if he enjoyed it. He opened my mouth, and I didn't resist. I wanted to, but I also wanted to keep my lips for the time being. He smiled up at the clerk when our lips seperated.

"Our tickets please." He said in a seductive voice that I was too used to.

We got to our gate just in time. He had gotten two first-class seats. When we sat down, he lifted the arm rest between us, pulling me to his side, like we really were a couple.

"All in the pretense." He stated when I stiffened. I leaned into him uncomfortably.

He hadn't told me where we were going, and I was curious. Surely I was entitled to a few answers, considering my life would be ending in mere hours. So I asked him, when all of the other passengers were asleep.

He looked down at me, his eyes gleaming, with amusement it seemed. "Volterra, Italy." He replied.

"What's in Volterra? Other than my death." I whispered. He chuckled. I was obviously right about the death part, and it amused him.

"The Volturi." He stated. I nodded. I remembered Edward talking about them the day of my 18th birthday. I tried to lean away from him, but his arm wouldn't let me go.

"The rest of the passengers are asleep." I muttered, still trying to pull away. He glared down at me, "But the flight attendents aren't." He said. He almost looked upset that I had been trying to pull away.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked. His mood confused me. He had told me that it was repulsive that we had to play up this pretense. So it confused me that he didn't want to let me go as quickly as possible.

"Because I can." He said, seeming embarrassed by my question. I let it drop. I didn't want to agitate him. That would be the wrong thing to do.

I was bored, and I needed to talk to somebody to get the idea of death off my mind. Since there was nobody else awake, I decided that I could talk to him.

"What's you're name?" I asked casually. Hopefully he hadn't heard the hesitance in my voice. "Felix." He answered simply. I nodded, not knowing how to keep the conversation going. He seemed to understand, because he asked, "What's yours?"

I looked at him, questioningly. "You don't know already? You came to my house to kidnap me and you don't even know my name?"

"Well, my master's just told me to come and get you. They didn't say your name. They probably don't even know it." He replied. That brought on another round of questions.

"Why did you come and get me in the first place?" I questioned. I looked away from his gaze. He didn't blink the whole time I was talking to him, and it was uncomfortable for me to look at his blank stare.

"I'm not sure why. I think it is because they want people from that coven you hang around with. You just happened to be the bargaining chip you needed. My master's know how strongly they feel about you, and knew how much pain it would cause, if you were taken away from them." He said this as if he understood exactly how that would feel.

"Well, I hate to burst their bubble, but that coven doesn't care about me anymore. They left 6 months ago, and they just returned today, to cause me more pain." I whispered. I had to keep telling myself that that was the reason they returned, so I wouldn't fall into the trap of hoping.

"I'm sure that's not true." He said, comfortingly. Why would he try to comfort me? What was I to him, or the rest of the vampire world for that matter. Why did he care if I was upset? "At any rate, they'll find out we have you, and that it's their fault. They'll be forced to come by all the guilt they'll hold, and when they do, you may be set free. Or you may be changed. I doubt we'll kill you. Aro likes potential. And I've heard you have a lot." He smiled.

He was reassuring me now? And was I mistaken, or had his hold on me become stronger? Had he gripped my side like I thought. Or had I imagined it?

"Um...do you mind if I sleep?" I asked, not sure how to continue the conversation.

"Nope, you're gonna need it. I doubt you'll be able to sleep when we get there."

For some reason, I didn't have any nightmares that night. Or morning. I couldn't tell. It was probably for the best, because I doubt the rest of the passengers would've enjoyed my screaming. I dreamt of Edward, and that he was laying next to me, holding me. The stone cold arms felt so real. And I swore for a second, something touched the top of my head. I couldn't tell, but it felt like lips.

I sighed and smiled. I woke up then, and realized that the arms I felt around me were real, but they weren't the ones I craved. I looked up and Felix stared back at me. And unknown emotion playing in his eyes. I looked away and tried to fall asleep. But I was too aware of him, that that possibility fainted away.

Finally I felt the plane begin to descend. I pulled away from him, and he let me this time. He didn't have any bags, and neither did I. We looked like the craziest couple ever.

When we stepped off the plane, it was dark outside. Felix had planned this arrival just right. Or whoever booked our flight had. When we got outside, he walked me to a car. I didn't know what it was, but it looked fast. What was it with vampires and speed? I didn't understand it at all. Oh well.

Felix drove faster than any vampire I had ever been in a car with. I had first thought it was impossible for a car to be going this fast, but I gave up on that idea after a couple minutes. I just sat in the car silently. Awaiting what was coming. I felt strangely calm, and I knew that I should be begging for my life, or fearing for it. Whichever.

We started to climb up a circular hill, until we came to the walls of a city. I didn't know if it was exactly where we were headed. But I whisped the name anyways. "Volterra?" I asked.

Felix smiled and nodded. "Volterra." He agreed.

_**So what do you think about this once. Review review review. I like ideas, and if you have any that would be useful, I just might use them. **_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Previous Chapter: **__Felix smiled and nodded. "Volterra." He agreed._

Edward POV

I couldn't believe that the Volturi would stoop this low. They could've threatened to take Bella. But they went to far, because they actually had.

My siblings and I were sitting on the plane. The rows were 2x2. Rosalie and Emmett, Jasper and Alice, and some old lady and I. The old lady kept turning to me, telling me that I reminded her of 'her Richard', so she put it. She told me about when she was a girl, and how she used to fool around with 'her Richard' before they were legally married.

I couldn't help but smile. This is what I wanted Bella to remember me as. But I wouldn't be dead before Bella. I would always be with her, so she wouldn't have to tell people about how 'her Edward' and her had fooled around before being married. Bella would just merely have to mention how we had fooled around to me. I would make sure of that.

Even though we were in a bit of a pickle right now, it didn't surprise me that Emmett found my situation with the old woman hilarious. He kept cracking jokes about old people under his breath so only us vampires could hear. I wanted to sock him so bad. But Rosalie did that job for me.

This was the longest plane trip I had ever taken, and when the doors finally opened, I burst through them. We had no time to waste, and if my siblings couldn't keep up with me, it sucked to be them. I ran (not at human speed, I might at) to get a car. Nobody could see me as I raced past them. I didn't worry if they did. They would probably think it was just their imagination. My siblings followed my lead.

I found the fastest car I could, and my siblings piled in after me. I drove as fast as possible. But I still felt like it wasn't enough. We weren't going to be there in time. I could almost feel it.

"Edward, calm down. You're gonna make us crash." Alice said calmly. I could tell by her thoughts that she was just as worried as me, but she didn't show it. She was trying to keep my calm, so I didn't do anything stupid. And I admitt, if she wasn't here, then I probably would.

I calmed down, and we made it to Volterra sooner than I had believed we would. As soon as I parked the car and shut it off, we all got out and stood outside. It was dark outside, and there were few people walking the streets. That was a very stupid idea to be walking the streets at this time, if you were human. Vampires were probably everywhere. And they were definitely hungry.

But then I remembered we were in Volterra, and that hunting was strictly forbidden within it's walls. I didn't even see a vampire anywhere. We could smell them all over the place though. We all followed the scent to where it was the strongest.

When we got to the old, beaten down building, we could tell that this is where the Volturi gathered. This is where the lived, and never left. This is where they had Bella. I could smell her, and so could my family. We all stiffened, and walked into the building.

There was a secretary at a desk. She was obviously human, and she greeted us, surprise hidden very well.

"Hello," She said, cheerfully, "Can I help you with something?" I looked at her. She knew who we were and she knew what was going on here. She knew everything, well, everything that she was probably allowed to know.

"Yes." Alice said sternly. "We're looking for our friend. Do you think you might know where we could find her?" This took the lady by surprise. She obviously knew who we were talking about, and she had probably been warned about us.

"Oh yes," She said. "The scared little brunette. Just a moment please, I'll call someone to come and help you." She picked up the phone and dialed a random set of numbers.

"Yes, they're here." She said, smiling back up at us. "Ok. Yes. I'll have them wait. No, they don't. They look normal. I don't think so. Ok. Yes." She hung up the phone. "Demetri will be right with you. He's on his way down."

As she spoke, Demetri came through the elevator doors. He smiled, smugly.

"So nice of you to finally join us..." He said cooly, "today I mean." Jasper, Emmett, and I growled in the back of our throats, and Rosalie and Alice held us back. Demetri laughed, and made a motion with his hand that told us to follow him.

We were headed to our deaths. I was almost certain. If they had already done anything to Bella, I would surely refuse them, hoping they would kill me, so that I could be with her again. We walked into the elevator and sat silently. Fancy, elevator music playing in the background.

I had to admitt, the Volturi sure knew how to put on human pretenses. It looked almost as if the broken down building was a hotel from the inside. I wish I could say the same about its outer appearance.

The elevator doors opened, and Demetri was the first out, followed by me. We walked toward these two wooden doors. I could smell my Bella quite clearly now. She was close. I could hear her heart beating, eratically. I could tell by it's sound that she was scared. I felt pain and worry. I needed to see her, to make sure she was alright. Well, at least her heart was still beating, I thought to myself.

Within seconds though, I was pinned to the wall by Emmett. Alice and Jasper standing at his flank. They looked worried, and I understood why when I heard the scream from behind the two wooden doors.

I knew that scream. I tried to shove against Emmett's hold, but it was no use. He was too strong. Demetri, the scum, stood there smiling at my attempt to free myself and get to Bella. Her voice was pained when she had let out that scream. I had to help her. I had to have her in my arms. Why was Emmett doing this? Didn't he want to save her too?

I read Alice's mind. "_I'm sorry, Edward. But we can't let you go until you're calm. Trust me on this, if you go in there now, you'll ruin everything we're hoping for. Including the chance to keep Bella alive."_

That thought caused me to calm down. I knew she was right. Who would bet against Alice anyway? Emmett released me when he felt I was calm. Demetri was still smiling, but seemed a little disappointed. He obviously had hoped that I would have been able to start something.

"_Damn it,"_ he thought. "_And I had really wanted to see how Felix would've taken his competition. Oh well, we'll find out sooner or later."_

He continued down the hallway, and stopped in front of the double doors, pulling them open. I was the first one in after Demetri. I only had eyes for Bella. But I couldn't see her. All I could see was a group of vampires standing around in a circle, looking at the rest of us. Out of the corner of my eye, I realized there were three men sitting on thrones to our left. But I didn't care about them. I just cared about Bella.

"Ah, the Cullens." A friendly voice came from the thrones. I still didn't look at them. My eyes were focused on the group of vampires.

"Hello, Aro." Alice said calmly. She looked as if she would get sick, if it were possible. She could tell that I would want to read her mind, so she was singing the U.S. national anthem in her head. That frustrated me, she only did that when she saw something she didn't want me to see.

"Ah, Alice Cullen, how nice to see you. And I see you brought friends. And you're lover. How nice." Aro said, friendly again.

"Yes. And I seem to be missing a friend." She stated sourly. "I was wondering if you had seen her. If you have, I would appreciate it if you could bring her back to us. She's brunette, very clumsy, all humans are after all" She sounded confident, but I also knew that she was being very careful. Alice was anything but stupid.

"Well, if I see her, I will definitely let her know." Aro said. He sounded calm and collected. I didn't like it or believe it one bit. "I see you came too, Edward."

I finally looked at him. I nodded and said nothing. I didn't want my rage to get us all in trouble. It was bad enough Alice was with me. But I definitely didn't want my other siblings to get in trouble because of my temper.

Aro looked cheerful. He glanced to where I had previously been staring. "I can see you caught my guards having a little fun. I'm sorry you had to see that. I didn't agree to it, but I couldn't stand to see my guards unhappy. But there was no harm done. Physically, anyway."

With that he waved to his guards, and they dispersed. Leaving a crumpled body lying on the floor. It took all the strength I had and a firm hand on my shoulder not to go rushing to her side. She layed on the ground, shaking.

I hadn't noticed the figure standing in the corner of the room, until I saw it move and head towards Bella. I was shaking with rage when he had the nerve to touch her. But she grabbed onto his arm, and pulled herself up. Bella. My beautiful Bella, was allowing this monster to touch her, and to help her.

As I looked at the figure closer, I could see that his face was pained. I couldn't help it, I allowed myself to read his mind. I had been trying to ignore all the minds in the room, but this one I couldn't help.

"_I'll kill Jane for thinking about torturing her. I swear I will. How could she? I'll never let it happen again, if I have any say in the matter. Which I don't. But I will surely try."_

I stared at the two of them. Bella's eyes met mine. They were full of pain again, but not he pain from the forest. They were filled with pain from the torture she had dealt with. I wish I could read her mind, for the millionth time. But I couldn't. I just stared at her, feeling the pained look spread across my face as well.

She smiled as much as she could. But her attempt wasn't good enough. She knew it and the blood rushed to her face. It was just like Bella. She could have bamboo shoved between her finger nails, and not care. But the second she made a fool of herself, she was embarrassed.

I had no idea what to do now. I was scared, for my siblings, for Bella. I would never admitt it, if we all got through this alive. But I would never forget how it felt. Ever.

"Felix, don't worry. There will be no more unnecessary harm done to her. You can go back with the rest of the guard." Aro said, calmly.

Felix looked at his master, and nodded once. He glanced at Bella one last time, and headed back to the wall where he had previously been standing.

I felt instant hatred towards Felix. I knew that look. He had obviously fallen in love with Bella. But he couldn't have her. She was taken, whether she knew/felt it or not. She was mine. And she would always be mine. I understood what Demetri said about competition now. But Felix needed to realize that there wasn't any competition. There was never going to be, because Bella would never choose him.

_**I know this chapter is short, but I'm getting to the good chapters. Review please!**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Previous Chapter: **__I felt instant hatred towards Felix. I knew that look. He had obviously fallen in love with Bella. But he couldn't have her. She was taken, whether she knew/felt it or not. She was mine. And she would always be mine. I understood what Demetri said about competition now. But Felix needed to realize that there wasn't any competition. There was never going to be, because Bella would never choose him._

Bella POV

Felix brought me to a room, and it was very cold. I felt like we were underground. There were a bunch of people hovering around three thrones. Well, not people; they were vampires.

Except these vampires didn't look like the ones I was used to. There was very dim lighting, so I wasn't sure, but these vampires looked almost chalky. I felt that if I were to blow on them, they would disappear, taking my nightmare with them.

As we walked in, they all turned toward us. I watched as Felix walked towards the thrones and knelt on one knee. The three vampires who sat in them were obviously the leaders. I recognized them from the picture I had seen in Carlisle's office, such a very long time ago, it seemed.

One of the leaders, looked almost bored. He was on the right of the middle one. The one to the left of the middle one, looked like he was angry, and that he just wanted to hurt something, or somebody. I gulped. But I didn't linger on his face.

My gaze turned towards the vampire in the middle. He seemed almost amused. He met my gaze and didn't drop it. His smile kept growing. That didn't seem like a good thing. But maybe that meant that this would be quick, and I would finally be put out of my misery. I didn't want to live through all of this pain. I was hoping this would solve all of my problems.

Felix got up and walked towards the middle one, holding his hand out. The middle one left my gaze, and touched Felix's hand. He closed his eyes and smiled.

"My goodness, Felix." He said. "I would never have thought it possible, especially for you. I must admitt, I'm surprised you even were able to bring her back whole, but to see how you feel. Well, I would have never guessed."

Felix looked down, embarrassed. I wondered why. But before I could ask anything, the middle leader was in front of me. I was startled. I hadn't been expecting that.

He could tell. "I didn't mean to frighten you. I just merely wanted to look into your mind." I was confused. I knew vampires had powers, but I didn't know they could have the same ones. My thoughts had been on Edward for a few moments, and I wiped them away completely. The last thing I wanted to do now was think of him, and the pain.

He could tell I was confused. "I'm sorry. I've been rude. My name is Aro, and that is Marcus," he stated pointing to the one to the right, "and Caius." He finished pointing to the one to the left. I just looked at him

"I would be honored if you were to let me try and read your mind. I know you have experience with vampires, and their powers. I've also heard rumor, that your Edward isn't able to see your mind. I was wondering if you would let me try." He said, not asking.

I was frozen. I didn't know what to do. I just nodded. Aro smiled, and raised his hand, waiting for me to put mine in his.

I cooperated, and he closed his eyes again. But this time, his smile disappeared, and his brow furrowed. He dropped my hand, and he almost looked disappointed. But then his bright smile came back as quickly as it had gone.

"Amazing," he said. "The rumors are true. You truly are one gifted human. It's too bad that you got into the middle of all this." With that he walked back to his throne. "Well, I suppose we have nothing else to do but wait now."

He sighed, and continued to stare at me. Felix was by my side again. He wrapped his arm around me, and I didn't try to resist. It was comforting to have one friendly encounter while I was here. Even if it had to be with another vampire. Why was I always the one to attract the mythical creatures?

I leaned into Felix as I watched a smile figure walk to the side of one of the thrones. The girl looked as if she was 12, maybe 13, years of age. She leaned down to the one called Caius, and whispered in his ears. I watched as his eyes got excited. He looked over at me, and then nodded his head.

"Aro." He called.

"Yes, brother." Aro replied.

"Jane has brought an important point to my attention. She mentioned that if we truly want Edward and Alice Cullen to join our group, then we have to give them a reason to."

Aro looked at Caius, probably wondering, like the rest of us, what he was up to. "We already have a reason, dear Caius. I don't understand what more we can do. We surely can't kill her, we need live bait."

Caius smirked at this answer. "But we can't have live bait, and treat the bait like they are vacationing in a hotel."

Aro considered this point. It seemed like he agreed with it, and then he replied, "You're right, Caius. But we can't kill her, or physically harm her. And Jane can't harm her mentally. We've got no other choice."

"Dear, Aro. I was merely suggesting we just frighten her a bit. Make her hysterical, so when the others come, they will see we mean business." He smiled at this fact. He seemed to enjoy the fact that someone would be in pain. It was sickening.

"I guess you're right. Oh well. But there can't be any physical harm done to her. We don't need to start anything unnecessary. We don't need to have a fight. Very well, Jane. Proceed."

The little girl, who was named Jane, gleamed at me. Her smile was menacing. She waved to the group of vampires standing behind her. They all crouched into a familar stance. I was terrified. Felix instantly crouched in front of me, protectively.

"No." He hissed. Caius looked at him disbelieving.

"Felix!" Caius repremanded. "You do not need to participate if you don't feel the need to. But you will not interrupt. You may go stand by the wall if you wish."

Felix nodded, and looked back at me apologetically. It was obvious that he'd been given an order which he could not ignore. I watched him as he walked away from me. I heard a hiss from the vampire group closing in on me. I turned my attention to them, and started backing towards the back wall. I was cornering myself, but I didn't know what else to do.

I couldn't focus on what they were doing, but I knew that I was frightened. I tried to make myself pretend that I was just imagining everything. That I was in my room still sleeping. I ignored what they were saying, and pretended that every touch I felt, was a cold rain drop. It worked for a while.

I opened my eyes, as the group paused. "Demetri." Aro called. They all paused, waiting for their order. "Our guests are here. Would you please go down and retrieve them. Bring them to this room please." He said as he hung up a phone that was attatched to the wall.

A tall, handsome vampire, dropped my arm, displeasingly, and walked through the door which I had come in. The vampires started on me again, and I went back to pretending.

I could sense they were getting restless. The majority of them really wanted to suck me dry. It was obvious. Any moment now, I thought. I would be finished, and all of this pain would go away.

But I had spoken too fast, and I felt pain, as I heard and felt my arm come out of it's socket. I couldn't stifle the scream that came next. The swarm of vampires froze, and I fell to the ground. It wasn't the worse pain I had had before, but it'd taken me by surprise, and I couldn't fight the sobs.

I heard the doors open, and could sense there were more people in the room. I didn't want to look up though. I didn't want to move my arm, afraid of there being more pain, that I just wasn't feeling yet.

I could tell that the group of vampires still stood around me. I wasn't listening to whomever was speaking. I was focusing on my breathing. I didn't want to pass out, but I didn't want to feel the pain. I had to remind myself to breathe, if I wanted to try and talk my way out of this. I knew I didn't have a chance in persuading them to let me go, but I would definitely still try.

As I felt the crowd around me start to disappear, but I still didn't look up. After a few moments, I felt a cold arm on mine. Whoever it was, was lifting me up, and I grabbed onto their arm. I knew they didn't need help, but I didn't want to fall back to the floor.

I looked up and saw Felix. His face was twisted with an emotion I had gotten used to. Pain. I knew there were other vampires in the room, and I knew who they were. But I only wanted to see one face. I knew he probably didn't want to see mine, but if this was going to be my last day, I surely wanted to die with his face in my mind.

I looked up and found Edward. He stared back at me. I could see emotions fly across his face in seconds. First shock, pain, anger, more pain, and shock again. It looked as if he was surprised that the Volturi had left me alive. So was I.

I heard Aro mention something, and I felt Felix relax beside me. He nodded towards Aro. I was still watching Edward. His eyes flickered to Felix, and I saw anger on his face again. I didn't understand why he would have that expression, but I didn't care. All that mattered, was that he would be the last thing I saw before I died.

Edward POV

"Well now, why don't we all get to know each other." Aro continued. I looked, unwillingly, away from Bella. I knew this wasn't going to be easy. I refused to join the Volturi, but now that they had Bella, I had no idea what the right answer would be. I couldn't let them kill her, but I didn't agree with how the Volturi ran things.

Bella was more important, I decided. Whatever the Volturi demanded, I would have to agree. I couldn't say the samething about Alice. I didn't want her to throw her life away. But I knew how she felt about Bella, how all of them felt about Bella, and knew that she probably wouldn't think twice about their offer.

"I'm Aro, and this is Marcus and Caius. We're very glad that you all have decided to come. And who might you three be?" Aro asked, pointing towards Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper.

"I'm Emmett, this is Jasper and Rosalie." Emmett said. He took a defensive pose in front of Rosalie. Jasper did the same with Alice. I wished that I could be defending the love of my life right now as well.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all. I'm curious," Aro said, "Do any of you have talents such as Edward and Alice?" He smiled menacingly. He knew we couldn't lie to him because he would be able to see the truth by merely touching one of us.

"I do." Jasper said. He was obviously going off of strategy. He wasn't going to say anything more than what was absolutely necessary.

Aro could see this too, so he asked, "And what would that talent be, dear one." Jasper sighed. "I have the ability to change the moods of people around me. But only in a good way, so I doubt that I could be used to harm anyone." He added. He was obviously lying, but it seemed to work.

The excitement drained from Aro's face. _Well I don't need a vampire whose only power is to make people happy_ he thought.

"That's wonderful. Now Alice and Edward, I would like to talk with you if you don't mind." He changed the subject, turning towards Alice and I again. I stiffened.

_Don't worry, Edward _Alice thought, _This will be fine if all goes the way I've seen. But don't make any surprising decisions, or the future will change._

I didn't relax, but I wasn't as anxious. I could already read Aro's mind. I knew what he wanted to ask us, and what he was planning to do. But I also knew how it annoyed my siblings when I had a serious conversation and left them out. So I let him speak his mind, so to speak.

"I assume to you both know why you're really here." He stated. We both nodded. I didn't want to say anything, unless Alice thought it was ok, so I didn't have a chance of messing up the future she'd seen.

"Good. First, I would like to apologize. I don't enjoy what I've had to do to get you two to consider my offer. But it was the only way. I am glad, however, that this has given one of my guards the opportunity to finally be happy." His thoughts went to Felix and I hissed.

Aro smiled at Felix, who was smiling at me. I could've jumped at him right then and there, but I felt Emmett wrap his arms around me. I was stuck. I wanted to tear his throat out, but I didn't want to harm Emmett doing so.

I turned back to Aro, still not speaking. He continued, "So, the question remains, would you please consider the offer of joining the Volturi guard?"

"No." Alice said firmly. I turned to face her quickly. "Alice!" I exclaimed. "What're you doing!"

She looked at me with wide eyes. _"Trust me, Edward. This is the only way to keep Bella."_

I was confused. I hadn't missed the part about how she didn't say this was the only way to keep Bella 'alive'. I tried to read the rest of her thoughts, but she was singing "I Love College" by Asher Roth. Interesting song choice, but I was frustrated with Alice. Why wouldn't she let me read her thoughts. What was she hiding.

"I'm sorry to hear you say that." Aro started. "When I had thought of the plan to capture Bella here, I had done so because I knew you cared about her." In the background, I heard someone snort. I didn't have to look to guess that it was Bella.

"But I'm guessing that that feeling for her has changed. Oh well." Aro said, disappointed.

"Aro." Caius said, ferociously. "We can't just let her go. She knows too much. It goes against everything we've ever enforced."

"I suppose you're right Caius. I suppose we do have to do something about this—" but Aro was interrupted by Alice.

"If I may suggest something?" she asked, knowing she already would be allowed to.

"Of course, dear." Aro answered.

"I would like to ask you if it would be alright if we simply changed Bella. That way you wouldn't have an innocent human's blood on your hands. And that way Bella wouldn't have to pay for crimes that aren't hers." Alice finished.

I couldn't help the growl that escaped my throat. And I wasn't the only one. I could hear Rosalie growling as well. That didn't surprise me though. She never did want Bella to be a vampire.

"That sounds pretty fair, Caius. Afterall, it's not her fault that this all happened. And we certainly don't want to waste such gifts as these."

Caius looked disappointed. I didn't have to read his mind to know that he would've enjoyed killing Bella.

_**So what'd you think? I'm sorry I haven't written as much. I had a minor writer's block. I know this chapter was pretty boring, but I'm hoping you'll enjoy the next few. I think they'll be pretty exciting! Review please!**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Previous Chapter: **__Caius looked disappointed. I didn't have to read his mind to know that he would've enjoyed killing Bella_.

Bella POV

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. They were going to kill me. But they decided not to? I knew Alice knew that I wanted to become a vampire. All of the Cullens did. But why did they want to give me what I want, when they could be rid of me completely.

Something in the back of my brain told me that they really did care about me. That they really had come back because they were worried about me, and they really were happy to see me alive.

That thought was there, but I didn't allow it to come to the front of my mind. I didn't want to hope. Because if I hoped, then I would be even more pained when they left again.

I looked at every single one of them. They were all looking at Aro, but they all looked worried. They all looked like they would feel horrible if they lost me. All of them, even Rosalie. It'd taken me this whole trip to find out that they really do care about me.

Now that the truth was out, there was no way I could force it back inside. I didn't want to. It felt too good. I didn't want to lose them, and I felt like they didn't want to lose me.

Jasper could sense my feeling of being loved, and he turned to wink at me. I smiled back at him. I couldn't believe it. They all did really care about me. And that is why Alice was offering that I be changed.

"Well, I guess that'll be ok. But we'll have to see the change for ourselves." Caius replied to Aro.

"No," Alice stated. "She has to go back to her father and tell him that she is leaving, or our secret will be at risk. Then, if you don't mind, I would like Calisle to change her." Aro looked ok with the idea, until he looked at me, and saw Felix standing beside me.

Edward hissed. "She can go explain things to her father, but I would much rather she return to us. I believe there is somebody here who would be willing to change her." Aro replied. Alice didn't looked surprised, but Edward looked furious.

"I understand," Alice said. "But you can't keep a vampire from what they want. Eventually she's going to hurt him, because she'll want someone else. But if you want that idea on your conscious then it's up to you."

"I understand, dear Alice. But I would like my Felix to be happy while he can be. Obviously you know she'll be with him for at least a short while, so he'll be happy then."

I finally understood what they were talking about. If I was going to be changed, then Felix would be the one to change me. And if I was going to be changed, then Felix would be the one I would stay with.

I couldn't. I wouldn't. I didn't want Felix. I was glad he had been friendly to me, but his arms weren't the ones I wanted to be in. I didn't want to hurt my only friend on the Volturi.

"No. I won't do that." I spoke up, trying to sound stern. "I don't want to have to choose like that. You might as well kill me. I won't put someone throught the pain I've been through. I won't do it. I –"

"Shut up, Bella." Alice hissed. "She'll do it. I've seen it. She's having hysterics."

"Very well, Alice." Aro said calmly, "You may leave now. And you can take Bella with you. You may want to leave sooner than later though, mistakes do happen, and I don't want Felix to have to deal with the loss quite yet."

Alice nodded, and was suddenly in front of me, lifting me into her arms. But before I was comfortable, Edward was holding his arms out for me. I didn't resist, but I tried not to show how good it felt.

We ran through the dark hall. I was more comfortable than I had been in a while. A long while. We got into a car, that I'm sure was stolen, and raced as fast as we could to the airport.

Edward sat in the back seat, with me in his lap, along with Emmett and Rosalie. Jasper and Alice were obviously up front. Edward kept kissing my head, my cheek, my wrists. It felt natural. Every time he did so, my heart fluttered. He laughed a couple times, because he was able to hear it.

"I love you." He said to me. And I knew it was true. I didn't know how I knew it. But I did.

I nodded. I didn't want to say anything that might hurt me if he decided to leave again. He seemed to hear the skepticism in my silence.

"I'll earn your trust back eventually." He promised. Whether he was talking to me or himself, I didn't know.

The other four seemed to ignore us for the car trip, but they decided Edward and I had talked enough when we got the airport.

"Bella!" Emmett said, while giving me one of his bear hugs. "Leave it to you, to attract one of the Volturi. Too bad Edward can beat his ass!" Edward smiled smugly in the background.

"Thanks...Emmett..."I said between gasps. He laughed and let me go.

"Bella. I can't believe we almost lost you!" Alice said, hugging me almost as tightly as Emmett had. "I don't know what I would've done if we had. I mean, I guess I would have been able to figure it out, seeing into the future and all, but you know what I mean."

"Yeah, Alice. I know what you mean." I said, and I believed the words that came out of my mouth. I knew that they were my family. They really did care about me, and nothing else mattered.

I was surprised when Jasper hugged me. "Bella, don't ever do that again." He sounded like a big brother. I guess that is what he was to me now. "You gave us all a heart attack, even though that's impossible. Well, I mean, I guess it wasn't your fault, but you get the point."

I laughed and nodded. Then, something I hadn't ever expected happened. Rosalie came up and hugged me. I was so shocked, it took me a second before I was able to hug her back. I didn't want to seem rude, but I was defnitely hesitant. It wasn't something I was used to. And I could tell she felt almost as uncomfortable.

She didn't talk to me, but her meaning was clear. When she let me go, I had one more person I had to face. I breathed in, and turned to face Edward.

He didn't waste any time. He closed the distance between us in close to human speed, but not quite, and grabbed my face in his hands. I closed my eyes, glad this wasn't a dream, but almost hoping it was.

Edward paused, causing me to open my eyes. His eyes were glowing. But he was obviously making sure that this was ok with me. It was. I stood on my tiptoes, to close the rest of the distance.

This kiss was amazing. So different from the ones I was used to. I had glued myself to him, but he hadn't pushed me away. That was surprising. He usually did when I went too far.

His lips were stone on mine, but my lips formed to them naturally. He parted his lips very slowly, and I did the same with mine. His sweet breath rushed into my mouth, making my head whirl. If I could stay in the place forever, I thought to myself, then I defnitely would.

Edward POV

I didn't want to be the one to break the kiss, so I kept going. Bella didn't seem to mind. The rest of my family's thoughts, I couldn't ignore.

"_Oh, God. Get a room. Preferably one that I'm not in."_ Rosalie thought.

"_Whoot! Go Edward! That's my brother, getting it on with a human!"_ Emmett obviously.

"_Too much lust! Can't stand it! Have to fight urge to grab Alice!"_ Jasper was close to rocking back and forth.

"_Yes! This is perfect! Now the whole family is back together! For now."_ Alice thought.

I could tell Bella was getting out of breath, but that wasn't the reason I stopped. I stopped because of the throat clearings in the background. I turned around to them, holding on to Bella who was gasping, and raised an eyebrow.

"I know you guys don't have to clear your throats." I accused them.

They smiled at me, and Alice said, "The plane's here and it's time to board."

I nodded, not letting go of Bella. We walked up to get our tickets, and when I saw Bella get hers, I was disappointed. We had opposite rows. Alice, who had booked the flight, had probably done this on purpose.

"Alice." I complained, which was not like me at all. "It's not like we're going to attack each other if we were sitting by each other." Bella looked upset as well. But she would never say anything.

"Oh I know." Alice replied, smiling. "There's just someone who wants to talk to you again. And I think they have the right to know why you're breaking up with them."

Emmett's smile was angelic. He knew what was going on, and so did the rest of my family. But all their thoughts said was _Yeah Edward!_

I left it at that. I was hoping it wasn't who I thought it was as I got on the plane. Bella left my side, and sat in the row opposite of me. I watched her the whole way, but I eventually had to look at my row.

And who was it? None other than that old lady who sat by me the first time. I would kill Alice for this. I couldn't sit with my Bella because I had to deal with this old woman and 'her Richard'?

The plane ride was terrible. But I got comfort out of the thought that Bella was sitting by another opinionated old lady too. At least it wasn't a guy her age who was flirting with her. I don't know what I would've done then.

As the plane descended, I started to unbuckle my seatbelt.

"What are you doing, sunny?" the woman next to me asked.

"I'm taking of my belt, so I can go to meet my girlfriend right away." I replied, without hesitating.

"Well, your girlfriend won't be very happy if you die because you hit your head on the roof of the plane or something." She said.

I smiled at her. I couldn't tell her that I would probably crash through the roof of the plane, instead of hitting it and dying. I just put my seat belt back on and winked at her. Bella saw that, cause she had been staring at me for the past half hour.

She raised her eyebrows. I winked at her too. The old woman didn't notice.

In the end, I was the last one in my family to get off the plane. The woman had taken the aisle seat, and she had asked me if I could help her off the plane. I would never hear the end of this from Emmett.

When I finally did get off the plane, I looked for my family. Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie were nowhere to be seen. But once my eyes found Bella's, I wasn't looking for anyone else.

I smoothly glided past the crowd. I stopped right in front of her, and she smiled up at me. I smiled back at her, but before I had the chance to grab her, I was being hugged by someone. I could sense it was Esme, because she had a unique scent, and hug.

"I'm so glad you're ok!" She said. She almost sounded like if she could cry, she would.

"I am too, Mom. I'm glad to see you too." I replied to her, hugging her back.

"Son," Carlisle started. "I wish you would've told us the trouble. We could have had a better outcome if I had been there with you."

"I doubt it," I replied. I suddenly remembered the deal we had made Aro, and the part I hated most about it. Not that Bella was going to be a vampire, though that wasn't my favorite part either. I hated the thought that Bella would have to eventually be with Felix. She would have to be with him, like I could never have before.

Bella looked as if she were upset too. I walked over to her and wrapped my hand around her waist.

"Don't worry," I whispered in her ear. "We'll fix this." I tried to comfort her, but she didn't relax. How could she believe my words, when I didn't?

She just nodded and I let the subject go for now.

"Come on," I said. "Let's get you home.

_**So what do you think? Everythings about to get heated. But I decided you guys could wait so I added this chapter. =) Review please!**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**Previous Chapter:**_ _"Come on," I said. "Let's get you home._

Bella POV

As we pulled into Charlie's drive, I noticed there was more than one car there. I saw Charlie's cop car, but I also noticed the vrey familiar VW Rabbit. Uh-oh. This wasn't going to be good.

I had no idea what I was going to tell Charlie. My dad wasn't always the best with accepting things, and I doubt he was just going to let me up and leave forever. He didn't really have a choice, but it was definitely going to be hard.

"Edward," I whimpered. "What am I going to tell him. I can't say goodbye to him. I can't." My eyes were filling up with tears, and my breathing was hard.

"You have to Bella." He said, "You have to keep him safe. Tell him you're going away to college. You were accepted early and you have to go now."

"But won't he notice when I never come back?"

"You can come back, after a while. And when you do, tell him that you've been busy with school and getting along by yourself. I know it's going to be hard, but I'm here for you. You'll be fine."

I nodded. As I did this, I saw Edward whip his head towards the front door.

"What the hell!" He exclaimed. "What is that mongrel doing here!?"

"Jacob is here because he cares about me," I stated, "And if you care about me, then you won't let that bother you." I hated playing the 'if you care about me' card, but I didn't want him hurting Jacob.

"Bella." Edward sighed. "That's not fair." But I could tell that he saw my point, and he wasn't going to argue with me.

"Alice is here," Edward said, after we had gotten out of the car and waved goodbye to Carlisle and Esme. I breathed. This would all be so much better with Alice here, because Charlie actually liked her.

"What about you?" I asked. Edward knew what I meant.

"I'm going to sit outside, because I'm sure Charlie won't let you out of his site if he saw you here. But I'm coming in now, since Charlie isn't home."

"What do you mean he's not home?" I asked. I could see his cruiser right in front of me. He had to be home.

"He's out with Billy Black searching for you." Edward sighed.

"Why is Jacob here?"

"Just in case one of us comes back to your house. He thinks it was one of us who took you."

"Oh." I finally said. I didn't know what else to say. I obviously had to tell Jacob that that wasn't the case. But I didn't know if he would listen to me before he tried to react to Edward's and Alice's presence.

As if she had been called, Alice stepped out of the woods. She came right up to me and hugged me, like she hadn't seen me forever. But it had only been about an hour or so. She acted as if she wasn't ever going to see me again, or at least that is what her hug felt like.

She grabbed my shoulders and smiled at me. I smiled back. I liked having her here. It always felt perfect when Alice was around. But it was Jasper's power that I needed right now, because I was going crazy with my nerves. I had no idea what to expect. And Alice couldn't see anything with Jacob around, so I was extra nervous.

I walked the rest of the way up to the front door with two vampires standing behind me. This was going to be interesting. Very interesting.

I took a deep breath and tried the door. It was unlocked. I looked back at Edward and Alice and they nodded for me to continue. I took another breath and walked into my father's house, my house; that was now being occupied by mythical creatures.

I was stunned. I had been expecting Jacob, but not the rest of the pack. They were all standing in the living room, looking towards the door. It took them a second to assess me and to notice the vampires standing right behind me.

"Jacob." I sighed. I started to walk over to him, but I was stopped by two pairs of stone cold arms. Why both of them felt the need to restrain me, I don't know why? It would only take one of them to stop a fragile human like me.

This was the wrong move to pull with a pack of werewolves standing right in front of us. They all whipped their heads to the contact of skin, and started to shiver. Edward and Alice noticed this too, and pulled me behind them.

"Stop it, guys." I said. This was absolutely rediculous. "I know you don't like each other, but you all want to keep me safe, and if you start fighting right in front of me, I promise I will put myself in the middle of it all. So you two," I said gesturing to the vampires. "back off. I'm going to gie my best friend a hug, once he calms down. And the rest of you," I motioned towards the shivering werewolves. "knock it off. They aren't here to hurt anybody. They actually saved me, so just this once, can we talk civily. Please." I finished.

I was proud of the little speech I just made. _That's it, Bella._ I thought to myself. _This is your house. Just because you're a human doesn't mean you don't have authority in your own house._

Edward and Jacob chuckled at me. But once they realized they were both laughing, they quit. Edward and Alice backed off. And the werewolves calmed down, like I had ordered. They all seemed to think that my sudden burst of authority was funny. They were all smiling, trying to hold in their laughter.

"Alright. Quit it. And don't any of you dare to let out that laughter. Or I swear to God...well I don't know what I'll do, but I'll make sure none of you will like it. Maybe I'll go hunt up to leprechauns or some other mythical creature, and marry it or something. Then we'll see who's laughing." I finished my little rant.

They all seemed to look at me like I'd gone mental. I know the leprechaun thing wasn't too good, but I didn't know what other mythical creature could possibly exist. Not that I doubted it in any way shape or form.

I walked over to Jacob, and hugged him. I felt like a four year old. He was so big, and I was just so tiny. He wrapped his burning arms around me, and I was comfortable. I forgot about everything and just focused on the fact that I was with my best friend Jacob.

I sighed, content. I felt him chuckle, and I leaned away to look at him.

"Wow, Bells. You've never been this happy to see me." His glowing eyes turned hard. "You must've been through a lot."

"Oh, Jake. You have no idea. But I guess you have to know now don't you."

I let Jacob and the pack in on the whole thing. I started with the part where I was on the plane, and ended with where I was sitting now. I was shocked to hear that Jake had been there the whole time. I had told him not to, and I was frightened for him because Felix had been able to beat him easily.

The whole pack was hell bent on never letting me out of their sight. Edward and Alice agreed to this, but that would mean the vampires and werewolves had to be getting along for a little bit.

"Hell no! We're not letting you leave our sight Bella!" Jake exclaimed.

"Damn right, Bella. You should know that we're all in this together now." Edward finished.

I had been trying to talk them into letting me just turn to a vampire, which would involve them letting me go to the Volturi. They were making this more difficult than it had to be. I didn't want Jake and the pack, or any of the Cullens hurt because of me. But they all seemed confident enough that they wouldn't have any harm done to them.

After that night, I hadn't been left alone for a single second. There was always somebody in my room with me while I slept, mostly Edward. I wasn't even allowed to take a shower without somebody being right outside the door. I missed my privacy, but I knew that this is what they thought would keep me safe, so I never argued.

Charlie had been stern about not letting Edward in the house or me out of it, unless it was for school or work. I couldn't blame him. He thought I had ran away. Which definitely wasn't the case. But I couldn't tell him that I had been kidnapped by vampires. He would've had me in a cushioned room right away.

I had told him that I had gone to check out some colleges, and applied for one. Edward didn't like this, because he knew I did it just in case I was changed.

"Bella." He'd said. "Nothing is going to happen to you. You don't need to make up stories."

We had argued about it for hours. I couldn't take back what I'd already said to Charlie, but I had been forbidden, by the Cullens and the Pack, to say anything more about it.

"It's quite insulting, Bella." Alice said one night. "You actually think the Volturi are going to get through all of us. I mean, if it was just us vampires, we wouldn't stand a chance. But we've got werewolves!"

"She's right, Bella." Jacob assured me. "We're not going to let anything happen to you, and we're stronger than we look."

That didn't calm me. I knew it was only a matter of time before the Volturi came. They would be looking for me, like Aro had said, and I had better be ready when they did. I debated in my head, many times, whether I should just save everyone and go to them. I knew I wouldn't get farther than my driveway if I tried. So it would be a wasted effort.

Edward was with me every day and every night. In the daytime, Jacob was around too. He used the excuse that he was representing the pack while being there. That way if anything was to happen, the pack could be informed immediately.

But I knew Jacob and the pack too much. I knew that the only way they could communicate was if they were in wolf form. I asked Edward about it one night.

"Jacob doesn't trust you does he?" I asked, keeping my eyes on the ceiling.

"No, he doesn't." Edward sighed. He didn't like Jacob being around so much, but I needed him almost as much as Edward.

"Why?" I already thought I knew the answer, but I needed it to be confirmed. I didn't want to hurt Edward, but I needed to know if Jacob was ever going to let his guard around me down.

"Because he thinks I'm going to hurt you again." Edward's face was anguished. I hated that I made him feel this way. I waited for him to continue though.

"He thinks I'm fickle, like Romeo. He thinks that he'll have to put you back together again, if and when I leave. He's upset that he won't get the chance to tear me apart if that ever happens. Which it won't." He assured me.

"Oh." Was all I could manage. I didn't want to dwell on the topic anymore, so I changed the subject.

"So, since we don't know how much time we have together..." I left the sentence open, hoping Edward would catch up to my mood.

He did, and he brought my spirits down.

"Not tonight, Bella." He sighed.

"Why don't you just say, 'Not tonight, Bella. Or any other night for that matter. I don't want you that way. I only want to kiss you and make you crazy every time I touch you'" I cornered, in a very bad impression of his voice.

He laughed at me. "Bella, you're right. I do enjoy making you crazy about me. But I wish I could show you how crazy you make me feel after every kiss and touch as well. If only I could show you without hurting you." His face was twisted with thought.

"I have a solution for all of that. Why don't you change me. Right here and now. And then in three days, you can do whatever you want to me, you could throw me out a window if you want, and I would be right back at your side in a flash!" I hoped.

He was shaking his head before I had finished the first sentence. "Bella, I'm not going to change you. You're staying human, if I have any control over it." His eyes were fierce with authority.

"Well, you don't have any control over me." I knew he knew I was lying. But I still tried to sound like I meant it.

"Oh really?" He countered, his eyes filled with humor and mischief.

"Yes, really." I gulped.

"I bet I could prove you wrong." He said, leaning closer to me. His sweet breath making my head spin.

"Hmm..." was all I could reply. It was the safest answer, because I knew my voice would betray me. I tried to focus on my breathing.

He smiled his crooked smile at me, and moved his body until he was hovered over me. He bent his head down to mine. He made sure he didn't put any weight on me, but his body was still laying on mine.

"First," He started, leaning even closer to me. "I have control over your breathing." He slid his nose from my neck to the corner of my jaw multiple times.

"Second," he continued. " I have control over your heart." I knew I wasn't the only one who could hear my heart going a mile a minute. He moved his lips to the corner of my mouth. I couldn't focus on anything other than my breathing, which was so loud; it was almost embarrassing.

He moved his lips to mine then, and there was a fiercness that I wasn't used to. I could feel the longing in this kiss. I couldn't help myself. I wrapped my arms around his neck, my fingers twisting themselves into his hair. My right leg warpped around his waist. I couldn't help myself. It was too tempting.

It was only a matter of seconds, before Edward pulled away. So I crushed myself to him, getting as much as I could out of this kiss.

And as I knew he would, he pulled away. Too soon. His eyes were scourching, black and filled with a wanting fire.

"And lastly," he breathed, his voice rough, but still velvety, it that's possible. "I have control over your actions." He said this as he unlocked my hands from his neck, and methodically moved out from under my leg, to my side.

I pouted. I definitely didn't like that control of his. I could live with the others, but this one, I hated. He was right, of course. And I understood his point, but I definitely could've lived with a little more tonight.

_**Sorry this took so long to write. I had school this week, and I've been planning a bday party for my dad. I don't know if I'll be able to write anything anytime soon. But don't be surprised if I do. Hope you enjoy. And as always, please review.**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**Previous Chapter:**_ _I pouted. I definitely didn't like that control of his. I could live with the others, but this one, I hated. He was right, of course. And I understood his point, but I definitely could've lived with a little more tonight._

Edward POV

_Ugh! Why did Bella have to be so irresistable?_ I thought to myself. I couldn't handle it. Her smell, her taste, everything about her was just so tempting. Luckily, this time I had been able to control myself. But I never knew when my 'controls' would lessen.

I had thankfully been able to convince her that it wasn't safe to be 'that' close to her, but she unfortunately, she didn't seem to care. She was so stubborn.

I never let her leave my sight, unless it was absolutely necessary. I didn't like the thought of her being without me, or of her being with that wolf. I knew he didn't trust me, and I couldn't blame him after all that he'd done, but I didn't trust him either.

"_Why did you come back, bloodsucker?"_ he thought one night, while Bella was in her shower.

"I don't have to give you an answer, dog. It's none of your business, first of all. And secondly, I don't care what you think. All that matters is what Bella's thinks and feels." I said sharply.

"No. You're wrong." He countered. "It is my business. Everything to do with Bella is my business. And you have no idea as to Bella's thoughts or feelings any more than I do."

"I don't see how Bella is your business. I'm very greatful towards you because you kept her alive, while I was gone. That is the only reason I allow you and your pack to be around her at all. But your services are no longer required, dog. If it wasn't for the fact that Bella insisted that I try to get along with you, you would probably be dead by now."

I was getting annoyed with him. He didn't know anything. The only reason Bella kept him around was probably because he had been there for her when I couldn't be, and she felt guilty about leaving him. I could deal with that, couldn't I?

"Whatever, leech." He replied. "Anyways, I'm going to be here, no matter what. Bella is in trouble, and I love her. I will do anything for her. I won't let anything happen to her. I won't hurt her either. I can't say the same thing for you. Which is another reason I keep myself around."

He hit his target. I didn't like the fact that I had caused Bella so much trauma. It had been the most idiotic decision I had ever made in my whole existence. And I would never forgive myself for it, no matter what Bella said.

"You may not leave her now mutt," I countered, "But you will eventually. I know about the whole imprinting situation with your pack. When you find 'the one' then you will leave her. You will hurt her then. So don't make promises you can't keep."

He huffed. He didn't have anything smart to say back. I could read his thoughts going a mile a minute. He had so much things to say, but he didn't know which one would be the best.

"What are you guys talking about?" Bella said, coming around the corner. I quickly walked over to her, and wrapped her in my arms.

"Hello." I said, sounding satisfied.

She smiled. "Well, hi. Long time, no see."

"Silly, it felt like forever for me." I kissed her. I heard a disgusted grunt in the background, but I doubt Bella could. I snickered under my breath, and put more effort into the kiss.

I knew it was wrong to push Bella like that, but I couldn't help it. I wanted to get even with the dog, and I knew only one thing he envied me of. So I used it. It didn't seem like she would disagree.

"Well, Bella. How was your shower?" Jacob asked. I didn't like the thoughts in his mind. They were more graphic then I could stand.

"Jacob," I hissed. "Could you please stop thinking like a perverted teenager. It's like your shouting those thoughts at me."

He looked away, embarrassed. I felt a small smack on my chest, and looked down at Bella, amused.

"Leave him alone." She said under her breath. It wasn't quiet enough for Jacob not to hear, but he acted as if he hadn't.

She walked over to him, and hugged him. No matter what I did or said, I couldn't get her to stop doing that. It hurt her too much to talk to her about it, and so I had given up.

I just breathed slowly whenever she did. It helped calm myself down. I didn't want to start anything that would make Bella upset.

In the middle of their hug, Alice came rushing through the door.

"The Volturi are here, they'll be here in any minute." She breathed. She was followed in by the rest of my family. Emmett looked amused, Jasper and Rosalie pissed, and Carlisle and Esme looked worried.

I hissed. This wasn't good. They were definitely too early to come and fetch Bella. "Come on, Bella." I said, turning to her. "We've got to leave now!"

I grabbed her hand without listening to her protests about Charlie. I didn't care as long as she was safe. The Volturi wouldn't harm Charlie. They would follow Bella's scent. If she was away from the house, Charlie would be fine.

"Jacob," I said while pulling Bella onto my back, "Call the pack. We're going to need all the help we can get."

Bella POV

This definitely wasn't good. They were all going to get themselves hurt, trying to defend me. Jacob was in it too. He nodded when Edward told him to get the pack, and ran out the door.

Edward was flying then. We were going somewhere else, and I couldn't help but to worry about Charlie.

"Edward," I breathed, trying to keep myself together. "We can't just leave Charlie. They'll kill him."

"They won't hurt Charlie. They'll follow your scent, and if it leads them away from your home, Charlie will be fine."

I trusted Edward. But I still worried. If anything happened to any of them, it would always be my fault. The Volturi were going to get me one way or another. I would much rather it be before they hurt my family, the people I loved.

I felt Edward stop, and I quickly jumped down. We were in the clearing where the Cullens had held their baseball game last spring break. I didn't like this place, but it was far enough away from home. So that was good.

The Cullens were talking about ways they could defend me. I didn't want to hear it. It wouldn't help my situation if I tried to argue with them now about it. They wouldn't listen at any rate.

I tried to breathe. I hadn't realized that it was hard until I really needed air. I sat on the ground and put my head between my legs.

"Bella," a calm voice said. It wasn't Edward's; I looked up.

"Everything's going to be fine." Jasper said. Why was Jasper comforting me? He never even talked to me.

"How can you know that?" I whispered. "Alice doesn't even know if it will all be fine. So how could you? You're all going to get yourselfs hurt over me. Do you think that's ok with me? Do you think that after they destroy all of you, they won't still change me?" It was very hard to breathe now, so I put my head between my legs again.

"Nothing's going to happen to us Bella. Or you for that matter." He said, he was trying to comfort me now. I could feel his power being used. But it didn't help.

"Why is it such a bad thing for them to change me? Why are all of you so hell bent on keeping me human? If they change me, then I can be with Edward. It would definitely make all of your lives easier, since you wouldn't have to save me all the time." I ranted.

I was frustrated. It was dangerous for me to stay human. It was dangerous for the people around me. I was making it dangerous for other vampires too.

"We don't want to torture you Bella. But you don't want to be one of us. You don't want to be this. We want you to be human, because we don't want to put our burden on you." Jasper replied.

"I couldn't have said it better myself." Jacob said, walking into the clearing. Rosalie, Jasper, and Edward all growled at him.

He ignored them and came over to me, holding out his hand.

"You're gonna get all dirty Bells." He joked. I let him pull me up, but I didn't laugh.

"Yeah, I don't want one of the Volturi to bite me when if I don't look presentable." I added, sarcastically.

He narrowed his eyes, but didn't say anything. The rest of the pack, in wolf form, walked into the clearing too. They seemed less at ease being around the Cullens than Jacob did.

All of a sudden, Jacob let go of my hand and darted into the woods. Edward's hand replaced his and I felt him pull me behind him. The Cullens formed a protective circle around me. Jacob was already back, in his wolf form.

"They're here." Alice and Edward said together. I couldn't see anything but the backs of my family. I heard hissing from the vampires, and growling from the wolves. Then all of a sudden, everybody became completely still.

"It's sad to think that you felt the need to fight us, friend Carlisle." I heard Aro say. I still couldn't see anything. Why weren't the others talking or moving?

"Well, I guess this is just going to make it harder for you, Edward." Aro sighed. "Dearest, Bella. Please come out from behind the circle."

"Um...I don't know if I can. They're all kinda rock solid, you know." I whispered. I knew they would hear me. I heard a couple of chuckles.

"Just push, dear." Aro assured me. "They won't be able to stop you." So I did. I found it was very easy.

When I looked at my family, and the pack, their eyes were staring straight forward, blank. They only thing they were doing was breathing.

"Um...what's wrong with them?" I asked, looking away towards the Volturi.

"Alec is very talented, just like you will be. He is able to incapacitate anyone he wishes. He numbs their senses, so that is why your family can't protect you right now. Not that they need to. You're in no danger, right now." Aro replied.

I looked over at Alec, he seemed to be very concentrated. Felix walked towards me then. He held his hand out. "Bella." He said.

I took his hand, unsure. "Could you unfreeze them please. I would like to say goodbye."

Aro nodded, and many of his tough looking guards walked over to the Cullens and held them tightly.

"Alec, please release the Cullens, but none of the wolves. They can't be trusted." Aro stated.

I watched as Edward was allowed to see and feel again. He looked surprised that I wasn't standing behind him at first, but then understanding hit him, and a loud hiss escaped his lips.

"Aro." I asked, turning towards him once again. " Could you do me one last thing, before I join you."

"Of course, dear."

"Could you please release that wolf over there." I said, pointing towards Jacob. "He's my best friend, and I would like to say goodbye to him too."

"I guess that can be allowed. But only him." I nodded. This was going to be hard.

Alec released Jacob, as a few guards held him to restrain him. He seemed just as surprised as Edward, and also like Edward, he didn't hold back his growl.

I let go of Felix's hand and walked over towards Jacob.

He looked away from the Volturi and looked down at me. I could see understanding in his eyes, and pain. Lots and lots of pain. I could see the tears forming in his eyes. He knew what was coming.

"Jake," I choked out. I heard him whine, but I ignored it. "Jake, I love you. You've been there for me when I was all alone. And I'm sorry I've never been able to return anything. I've been a horrible friend, Jake. I just wish I had more time to prove to you how much you mean to me. You'll always be my friend, Jake. No matter what I turn into. I will see you again, Jake. I promise. That is, if you still want to see me."

He nodded his head. Tears were running down his snout, glistening in his hair.

"I really do love you Jake. With all of my heart. Even when my heart is done beating, you'll still be in it." I finished, tears were welling up in my eyes. I pet his head, like you would a dog, and then wrapped my arms around him as much as I could. I squeezed him as hard as I could.

I felt him shake under me. I knew he was crying. When I let go of him, I couldn't look at his face. I let a couple of tears fall, and I walked over to my family.

I hugged Jasper Carlisle and Esme first. I told them I loved them, and I thanked them for everything they'd done for me. They couldn't hug me back, but I knew they wanted to.

After them, I turned to Rosalie.

"Rosalie," I said. "I know you didn't want me to be a vampire. And I know that you don't always like my choices. But I also know that, underneath all of that, you don't really hate me. I'm glad I got to know you. You may not feel the same way, but I love you as a sister. Would you mind if I hugged you?"

"Bella, I'm glad you understand. I love you too. And I would like nothing else but for you to hug me right now." With that being said, I hugged her. It felt awkward hugging people who couldn't return it.

Emmett was next.

"Oh, Emmett. Once I'm a vampire, we're going to have so much fun. I'm going to make sure that this isn't goodbye forever. It's just goodbye for now. There's just too much fun to be had with you and me. Thanks for being a big brother to me. I love you."

"I can't wait Bella. It's gonna be a blast. And of course it's not goodbye. I'm going to go home after this and plan out all the stuff for us to do for when you get back." He laughed.

I hugged him and turned to Jasper. He was sending off feelings of sadness. I didn't think he could control how he felt right now.

"Jasper," I stuttered. It was too hard to stay calm while around him like this. "Thank you. I know how hard it is for you to be around me, but you never for one second made me feel bad. I'm gonna need your power while I'm gone. But I guess I'm just going to have to wait until I return." I smiled at him.

"I love you like a sister Bella. I'm going to miss you." He sighed. I hugged him. I only had two more people left. And they were going to be the hardest, other than Jake.

"Alice, I know you already know what I'm going to say to you. And I want you to listen to _everything_." I planned on telling her to keep Edward away from hurting himself while I was gone. I knew she would get a vision of it. But then I decided not to say it, so that way Edward wouldn't hear it.

"I'm going to miss you, Alice. I even think I'm going to miss your make-overs. But, as you probably already know, I'm going to come back. When I do, I promise to let you take me shopping anywhere you want for one whole weekend. I'm sure I'll regret saying that when I actually have to do that, but I also promise I won't complain about it, much."

She laughed. "I love you too Bella. And I'll hold you to that promise." I hugged her and took a deep breath. This last person was going to be hard. Very hard.

"Bella." Edward started. But I cut him off. I needed to say something to him first.

"Edward, please let me say this." I took another deep breath, then continued without pause.

"Edward, I love you. I always have loved you, and I always will. I plan to love you forever. I know you don't want me to be a vampire, but we don't really get a choice anymore. I will think of you every second I'm away. You'll always be with me, because I truly do love you. I promise I will return to you, if you'll still want me."

"I'll always want you, Bella. No matter what." He said, barely audible.

"We're made for each other, Edward. When I come back to you, I'll prove that to you. No matter what else happens now, always remember that. I know I will."

I looked into his eyes, and I couldn't hold back the tears streaming down my face.

"Do you think you could let him go, so I can hug him." I sobbed, looking towards one of the guards.

He looked towards Aro, who nodded.

Edward was released, and I was in his arms. He was so still, and I could tell that this parting didn't just hurt me. He was in pain.

I knelt my head up and kissed him passionately. I would remember this kiss, vowing to myself that I would get another one just like it when I returned.

"This isn't goodbye, Edward." I whispered, only for him to hear. "This is just, 'I'll see you later.'" He smiled, but I could tell there was a lot of effort put into it.

"I will wait for you, Bella. No matter how long. You'll always be mine. And there's nothing anyone can do about that." He said this while glaring at Felix, who snorted.

"I know. Don't worry, I'll be back as soon as I can. I promise." I gave him one last kiss, and forced myself to let him go. It was hard, almost impossible, to release my hold on him.

"Ok," I sighed, turning toward the Volturi. "I'm ready."

Felix scooped me up into his arms, and then we were running. I made myself look back at my family, at my friends. I looked back at my future. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to come back to them soon, but I would definitely come back some day. Edward might move on by then, but I wouldn't worry about that now.

As I looked towards them, my eyes landed on Edward. He stood as straight as a statue, and when he thought I wasn't looking, I saw him crumple to the ground, his head in his hands. That was going to be the last image of Edward I would have while I was human. I didn't like it.

Once I was a vampire, I would come back. I would make Edward happy in ways I hadn't been able to before.

"Are you ready to start your new life," Felix whispered, "with me?" I looked into his eyes.

I sighed. I was never going to be happy until I was in Forks again, with the people I loved. But it would be harder than I thought getting back here. Who knew how long. Days? Weeks? Months? Maybe even years? How long was I going to have to be with Felix?

The last thing I heard in Forks, was a heartbreaking howl. I knew that howl all to well. Jacob was in pain, and I'm sure the rest of my family was too.

So I know this chapter is really long, but I want to know what you think. Your reviews help to make the story better, so bring em' on.


	12. Author's note

Ok so I know I haven't written in a while. And it's mainly due to school. I'm sorry to all my readers. But I really need to focus on my school work right now. My school gets out June 8 and I promise to have the next chapter up either that day or June 9. Thank you so much for reading. And I'm sorry how things turned out. But I can't wait to start writing again. Thanks.

_**Love,**_

_**Sassy1bd**_


	13. Chapter 12

_**Previous Chapter:**__ The last thing I heard in Forks, was a heartbreaking howl. I knew that howl all to well. Jacob was in pain, and I'm sure the rest of my family was too._

Edward POV

I couldn't believe it. My life, my whole existence, had been taken away from me. This was worse than the pain of me leaving her. This was nothing that I'd ever experienced.

I didn't want her to hurt more than she already was, so I waited to show my pain until she couldn't see me anymore. I stayed as straight as I could, and when I thought she couldn't see me, I toppled to the ground.

I hadn't cried for over 100 years, but now I felt the urge to. There wouldn't be any tears, but the thought was there.

I mentally noted that Jacob had run into the woods, and then I heard a blood curdling howl, filled with pain. He knew how I was feeling. No matter how much we hated each other, we had both lost our love.

"Edward." Carlisle said, the worry in his voice causing me to look up. "We won't get Bella back sitting here, we need to act now if we're going to do anything."

I thought about that. His words made no sense.

"What can we do, Carlisle? The Volturi have her. Bella's life will be over in a matter of days. There's nothing we can do." I accepted this fact, knowing that I would never see my Bella again.

"Don't be silly Edward." Alice piped in. "Of course there's something we can do. We have to go to Volterra."

"Alice." I growled, cutting her off. I didn't like that idea, considering it would put Alice into the hands of the Volturi. "That's crazy. They'll capture you the second they have a chance."

"Edward, I've seen it. Bella is sure about her future. She is going to be with you one way or another. If we want all of this to end without violence, then we have to get you ready. You need to be the last thing she sees before she's bitten, and the first thing she sees when she wakes up. That means that we're going to have to be very close by."

I thought about it for a minute. Deep down, I knew Alice was right.

"But the Volturi are never going to let us be that close to her." I whispered.

"They won't if we aren't part of them." Alice said matter-of-factly.

It took me half a second to get into Alice's face. I didn't like the way this conversation was going. I would talk her out of it, if I could. I wouldn't let her join the Volturi, no matter what. I would join them if I had to, but I would never let Alice.

"No, Alice." I hissed.

"Edward!" Alice said, not moving an inch. "Bella doesn't just belong to you. If you really think that you're the only one who is hurting because she's gone, then you're a selfish bastard. If you really think that we're all just going to sit by and let you do something that could ruin your's and Bella's life, then you're dead wrong."

"Jeez, Edward." Emmett sighed. "Calm down. It's not like the Volturi won't believe you. It's not like they'll harm you. They love you and Alice too much. At least Aro does. And Alice is right, we're all hurting. Bella is our family, and we're going to help her."

I was getting frustrated. They all were being way too difficult. My whole family didn't need to be put into danger because of the Volturi. I wouldn't let them. The Volturi might not hurt Alice or I, but I wouldn't let the rest of my family get hurt.

"Alice and I will go, but the rest of you are not coming." They tried to interupt me but I kept going. "I know you care about Bella, but as Emmett said, the Volturi won't hurt me or Alice; I can't say the same about the rest of you."

"It's ok, guys. This is going to work." Alice reassured them. She turned to me and put a hand on my shoulder. "We must leave now if we're going to do this."

I nodded my head and started running the same way the Volturi had gone, Alice behind me. I was going to get my Bella back, one way or another.

Bella POV

"You know you want to be with me, deep down." Felix kept saying. He'd told himself this too many times since we got on the plane. In my opinion, a guy was definitely desperate if he had to tell himself that over and over.

"Get over it. I'm going to be with Edward in the end." I said. "You sure are a masochist if you are really willing to put yourself through all of that pain for such a short time."

He just huffed. "Deep down, you want to."

"Stop trying to reassure yourself over nothing." I replied acidly. I wasn't totally sure the Volturi were going to let me just leave after they changed me. But I had to think they would. They'd let others leave, why not me?

I didn't know I had fallen asleep until I felt Felix shaking me. "Sorry." He said. "I would carry you, but I don't want or need the extra attention." I just nodded. I got up and walked by his side, like the first time, my hand around his waist and viceversa.

Leaving the airport was like I had stepped in the Godfather. I was circled by the Volturi guards; Felix still holding my waist. Aro, Caius, and Marcus were in their own little circle.

The amount of attention we got was completely unwanted by me. But the rest of them didn't seem to notice.

"Wow, what's with the welcoming party?" I heard some bystander mention. I laughed, and Felix's hold on my waist tightened. Obviously he didn't like their little joke, and that I had found it humurous.

When we got out into the garage, we walked to the very back where a bunch of black Escalades were waiting.

"What is it with you vampires and cars?" I murmured. Felix chuckled at my side.

"Just get in." He ordered. "You won't be complaining once you're one yourself." I gulped.

Does he have to keep reminding me about my future. I know that I'm going to have to be with him at least once. That part I dreaded the most.

I climbed into the SUV and looked around. I noticed that none of the others had put their seatbelts on. Not that they needed to worry about car crashes. They would survive no matter what.

As I continued to observe my surroundings, I noticed they had a mini-fridge and a flat screen.

"This is ridiculous." I stated. Felix looked at me, curious.

"What?" He asked.

"What the hell do you need a mini-fridge for? Unless you keep chilled blood in there, it's pretty useless." He chuckled.

"And the flat screen? Do you guys watch Bambi or something in here?" I mentioned without thinking.

"No," He responded. "We watch Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It helps our appetite sometimes." He stated, completely unaware of how that sounded to me.

"Oh well, I can promise you that I won't be watching that movie anytime soon. I'd rather stick with Bambi." I whispered.

He laughed, once again. It seemed that he thought everything I had to say was hilarious in some way. Almost like Emmett. Thinking about him didn't ease my nerves. I didn't want to think about the Cullens right now, it would just make my job much harder.

I hadn't even noticed that we had started driving, until I noticed the massive hill coming into view.

We were almost there. I was closer to the point when I would no longer be human. Where I would no longer blush, or trip. Poor Emmett, he wouldn't have anything to laugh at anymore.

Once we got into the city, my nerves started to drive me insane. My heart was racing and my breatyhing was hectic. At some point during my panic attack, I passed out. Everything went black.

When I woke up, I was once again in the chamber where Edward had saved me before. I knew why I was here, but I didn't know when I would be changed. Would they want to do it right away? Or would they want to see if I was completely Volturi material?

"Good evening, Bella." Aro started, "Glad to see you're awake once again. How are you feeling?" As if he cared.

"Can we just get this over with?" I asked. "I don't mean to be rude, but it's a hard decision, and it's making me antsy just sitting here."

"I completely understand. I guess since you're finally awake, we don't need to waste anymore time." He replied. "Felix, I suppose you would like to do the honor?"

Great. Not only do I have to be with Felix, but I will also have to be changed by him. Somewhere deep down, part of me is hoping that he won't be able to stop. That way I won't have to waste any part of my immortal life pretending I love him.

Felix smirked, and started stalking towards me. Like I was his prey. I technically was, but that little fact didn't help my nerves.

I gulped. He as getting closer. Did he think it was funny that my heart was going a mile a minute? He chuckled. Well, there's the answer to that question.

I stood up, and started to back away from him. Unfortunately, I backed myself into a corner, where there was no possibility of me getting away. Not that I stood a chance anyways; he is a vampire afterall.

"Bella. Bella. Bella." He laughed. "Did you really think that once I got you, I would let you get away from me? Did you really think that backing away from me was going to work?" He was in front of me now.

"Mmmm." He sighed, smelling my hair. "I really love the way you smell. I'm sure that's just going to be even better when you're one of my kind." He continued to sniff me.

He placed a kiss in the crook of my neck, and slid his nose up towards my earlobe. He sucked it into his mouth, and nibbled. Not enough to where he could break the skin, but enough to cause some stinging.

I tried to control my breathing. If he loved me, why was he making me so scared? Was this just all about getting back at the Cullens for being better then all of them? No, it couldn't be.

I'd seen the way Felix looked at me when we were in the clearing. He loved me, because that was the same look Edward and Jacob gave me. That was the same look that I gave Edward, I'm sure.

"Bella, I think you should sit down," he offered. "It would be more comfortable for you. And don't worry, I won't let you go for one second while you're changing."

Like that was supposed to make me feel any better. I didn't want his arms on me while I was writhing in pain. I wanted Edward. But it didn't matter what I wanted now. I learned that a long time ago.

So I sank to the ground, him following me. He was now kneeling in front of me. My heart was beating so fast, I could barely hear anything over it.

Felix came closer to me, and positioned his teeth at my neck, his arm holding the other side. I wasn't sure, but I thought I heard arguing and yelling coming from outside the door.

I took one last deep breath, knowing that I wouldn't ever be able to see Charlie again. I wouldn't be able to see Renee or Phil again. I may not even be allowed to see the Cullens again.

I would never be a human again. I would never have to eat food, I wouldn't have to sleep. I wouldn't have to use the restroom. I wouldn't have to do a lot of things.

What would I do with my time? I wouldn't have Edward around. I surely didn't want to spend my time with Felix. That would be a fate worse than death. A fate worse than what was happening right now.

What was Edward thinking when he left me? If he hadn't have left me, I probably would be at home right now, sitting with him in my bed. Him humming my lullaby. Me drifting off to sleep.

Just as I felt Felix tense, so that he could bite me without killing me, I heard the door to the chamber burst open.

It all happened so fast, all I saw was blurs. For once second, Felix was in front of me, ready to bite. And the next, he was being tackled by a little pixie, and I had a sharp pain in my neck, running all the way down my spine.

Why couldn't I move? Why was I trying to scream, but couldn't get anything out. I couldn't even breathe. Had I been bitten? Was this what everybody was talking about? They had described it as being all over you body.

It was supposed to be a fire. It was supposed to be burning me from the inside out. But what I was feeling now, was numbness.

"Bella!" an angel said. I knew that voice, but I couldn't place it. I wasn't completely coherent.

"He snapped her neck!" Another voice gasped. I knew that voice too. Why couldn't I remember the names of the owners?

"Bella, can you hear me? Bella? Please, baby. Please don't leave me." The angel sounded as if it were crying. That was wrong, angels shouldn't cry.

"D-d-don't c-cry..." I whispered. I couldn't tell if they understood me.

"Bella. Baby. Hold on. I'll fix it. Don't worry. Just don't leave me, please." The angel begged. Why would I want to leave something so beautiful?

I opened my eyes, and I was relieved that I saw a true angel there. I knew his face. I knew him. I wanted to tell him that, but I was starting to fall into the darkness that was surrounding me.

"D-don't make m-m-me go..." I tried to get out. I hoped they knew what I was saying.

"Edward, you have to do it now. It's the only way." The pixie said.

Edward! My Edward! He was here. He was here to save me.

"Bella," He sighed. "I'm gonna make it go away. I won't ever leave you again. I won't let you leave me again. I promise. Just hold on. It's going to hurt, but it'll be gone before you know it. Trust me."

I tried nodding my head, but that only made the pain sear. I whimpered, trying to hold off my strangled cries.

I saw the angel lean down, and put his teeth towards my neck. I'm not sure, but I think I smiled. Edward was going to change me afterall. I felt triumphant. I wanted to tell him, _I told you so._

But then, my smile vanished when his teeth sank into my skin. There was pain, but I had been prepared for that. It was much less than the pain that I had when Felix snapped my neck a second ago.

What I wasn't prepared for was the fire that was slowly spreading through my veins. Nobody was lying when they said it was excruciating. And I knew that this was only the beginning.

_**So what do you think? I know it has been a while since I've edited this story, but thank God finals are over, right? I mean, now I have all summer to finish this story. And I hope I'm able to gain more reviews. Let me know how you felt about this chapter. Review please. =)**_


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